It may not have the potential of Asia or Latin America but Africa is emerging.
We all know about the emerging markets like Asia and Latin America. Information is readily available about the static US market and the sometimes struggling European jurisdictions. The casino industry in Australia is well documented. But when it comes to Africa, well, it’s more of a dark horse, isn’t it?
The fact is that Africa is very much ‘one to watch’ as far as the casino business is concerned. “The casino industry in Africa is growing at an amazing pace, even though it has been quite static over the past two years,” said John Whiskin, TCS John Huxley’s African managing director. He should know – he’s been the company’s head of African operations, based in South Africa, for around 15 years now.
“There are new projects planned for Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, Togo, Ghana and Zimbabwe. There are Diamond and Harlequins casinos recently opened in Lusaka in Zambia and a new Chinese casino is destined for Luanda in Angola.” Of all of these, Ghana seems to be the real hot spot at the moment. There are four existing casinos in Accra, one in Temba and one in Kumasi and, in addition, there are three new casino projects planned in Accra over the next 18 months. “I don’t think that Africa will ever become another Macau, but it is definitely on a par with Latin America,” Whiskin told InterGaming. “Most of the major capitals host up to around seven casinos and new areas are being developed. With the rich resources such as gold, platinum, oil and metals found in most countries, there will always be a demand for casinos.”
This feature can be read in full in the September 2012 issue of InterGaming magazine.
