MARC HASENFUSS: Sun looks to the skies to crash online gaming party
As online betting soars, are the traditional gaming giants at risk of being relegated to the also-ran category?
Dealmaking doyen Brian Joffe famously contended, just as the pandemic was taking hold in 2020, that gyms were “yesterday’s news”. Five years after that pronouncement, Virgin Active, arguably the best-known gym chain in South Africa, is still alive and well and starting to flex its profit muscle again.
Today, more than a few observers are as dismissive about the continued relevance of large urban casinos as Joffe was then about gyms. And more might share that view after reading our cover story this week, which makes plain just how fast the local gaming industry is changing. The long-held dominance of large casino groups such as Sun International and Tsogo Sun has been undermined by the surge in online games, packaged by the large sports betting businesses such as Hollywoodbets and Betway...
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