Electronic bingo the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling
'It is a gradual process in which people become addicted.'
THE last public hearing regarding the introduction of electronic bingo terminals (EBTs) in shopping malls was held at St Michael’s Sands Hotel last Friday.
The public was invited to submit objections or comments at the hearing regarding the Galaxy Bingo mooted for the Southcoast Mall.
However, there was a poor turnout.
Stephen Franke, attorney for the People’s Forum Against EBTs, submitted that the granting of licences would not enhance the economy in any way.
“They deprive people of income and create a situation where gambling is in your face,” he said.
He continued, saying that the market is fully saturated with enough gambling around… and that the forum is ‘protecting people that need protection’.
“EBTs form the crack cocaine of gambling… as it is a gradual process in which people become addicted,” he said.
Mr Franke said the forum has not been treated fairly, with the hearings being improperly advertised. He called for the hearings to be re-advertised in local newspapers – for a proper hearing of the public voice.
Sibusisiwe Zulu, chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal Gaming and Betting Board, said the board had received objections from Peermont’s Umfolozi Hotel Casino and from Sun International’s Sibaya Casino and the Wild Coast Sun Casino.
Blackie Swart raised an objection on behalf of about 20 Limited Pay-out Machine (LPM) site operators in the area, regarding the implementation of 33 LPMs by Galaxy Bingo. “This is a serious issue and if the site opens, our businesses will go down the drain,” he said.
It was heard that the licence had been already granted for the LPMs.
Ms Zulu explained that the hearing had been held due to people objecting to Galaxy Bingo’s application for 150 EBTs.
“The application for a bingo hall started in 2005, and was approved in 2010 by a previous board. The applications we are dealing with are the applications related to the EBTs,” she said.
Advocate Ismail Jamie, representing Galaxy Bingo, argued that Peermont’s casino was 290km away, Sibiya was 155km away, and that the Wild Coast Sun made no social and economic contribution to the province.
He described the forum’s campaign against EBTs as a ‘strange campaign’ – as it is not against gambling, but EBTs.
“This is the dipping point and makes no sense, and this is where the community is going to go wrong,” he said.
Chris du Toit, CEO of Galaxy Bingo, said it planned to employ more than 60 staff at the site at the Southcoast Mall.
He said not only would it create employment, but the staff would receive training and skills development, and it would enhance the corporate social investment in the community.
He said that when the site opens in December, it would operate with LPMs and bingo in paper form.
Last week, it was reported that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela was considering establishing an inquiry to look into maladministration and abuse of public funds by the board.
Attorney Franke submitted a letter to Finance MEC Belinda Scott last week, informing her that the forum was not happy with ‘the way the board was handling the hearings’.
In his letter, Attorney Franke detailed that the board had “not acted in accordance with statutory obligations”.
Some of the issues highlighted in his letter to Ms Scott include lack of respect shown to members at the public hearings by the board.
The letter that was submitted asked the board to follow the finance MEC’s directive on the adjudication of the application for amendments to the bingo licences.
The Herald received a copy of Ms Scot’s response to Mr Franke, which stated that she intended to amend both the KwaZulu-Natal Gaming and Betting Reguations, 2012 (the regulations) and the KZN Gaming and Betting Tax Act 2010 (the tax act) in the very near future.
“Kindly note that the amendments will include measures to curb the proliferation of EBTs in public areas in close proximity to children and disadvantaged communities,” she said.
