Africa’s largest horse racing and tote betting company,??Phumelela,?may be?looking for local casino opportunities. The gaming specialist currently?offers horse racing, sports, and fixed odds sports betting. The group feels with the recent acquisition of Peermont group by Sun International that their company may be able to benefit. There may be?possibilities of picking up smaller casinos if?Sun International decides to focus on their bigger properties. CEO Rian du Plessis told media in a conference on Friday that they are looking for opportunities with great care.
Phumelela will need to assess if small casinos are an option with regards to getting licenses for limited payout machines. Locally limited payout machines are mini casinos that could be affected by restaurants, pubs, and diners that are closer to customers’ homes.
CEO Plessis did state they will bid for limited payout machine licenses; however, there is no date set for when the licenses will be awarded. Phumelela is behind Betting World brand with 60 retail outlets and 22 license applications pending. In less than two years their number of outlets has grown by 50%. Phumelela is hoping to continue this steady growth of their brand as well as expand geographically.
Phumelela controls horse race betting throughout South Africa, except in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape – which is controlled by Saftote and operated by Gold Circle.
Sun International owns and operates nearly 20 casinos on the continent, including Sun City.