CARMEL RICKARD: Minister Rob Davies plays an ace
When provincial boundaries were redrawn, a North West casino suddenly found itself in Gauteng, leading to a dispute over the lost revenue
No luck was involved last week when trade & industry minister Rob Davies won a case brought against him by casino owners — just hard work and diligence while weighing a particularly controversial decision. The Casino Association of SA (Casa), representing the interests of casino owners, challenged the awarding of a fifth casino licence to the North West province, which increased the number of licences in the country to 41. The dispute, heard by Pretoria high court judge Neil Tuchten, stems from a 2006 alteration of provincial boundaries, one consequence of which was that a casino previously operating in the North West became part of Gauteng. In 1996 a maximum national limit of 40 casinos was set, including six in Gauteng and five in the North West. But in 2004 the National Gambling Act gave the minister of trade & industry the power to decide the number.When the boundary between Gauteng and the North West was redrawn in 2006, the Morula Sun "moved" from the North West to Gauteng — t...
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