The Casino Industry of South Africa has released the results of its 2012 industry survey which shows that the country’s casinos have contributed more than ZAR50bn, around £3.5bn, to GDP.
In the financial year, South Africa’s 37 casinos contributed more than R4.7bn, or 36 per cent of gross casino revenue, through company tax, including R1.8bn in provincial gambling taxes and VAT. In addition, social and responsible gambling programmes benefited from contributions of around R90m.
CASA chief executive Derek Auret said: “Aside from the obvious benefit to government, casinos have also been responsible for more than R30bn in new development, have created almost 100,000 direct and indirect new jobs and have added 7,000 new hotel rooms and two international convention centres to our national tourism assets.”
Jabu Mabuza, CASA chairman, said South Africa’s casinos had shown resilience in an unpromising environment and in the face of “a growing enthusiasm on the part of policy makers for more stringent regulation and taxation of the industry.”
