LIMITED-payout machine operator Vukani Gaming is still a fledgling business, but is starting to look like one of the most significant in this slowly growing sector, which has used up a lot of potential investors’ patience. Vukani, a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments, holds one of two limited-payout licences granted in Mpumalanga, the first province to get moving on the industry, and has just won a licence for 1000 machines in Western Cape. The company has begun to roll out limited-payout machines, though slower than expected, in Mpumalanga. A Hosken spokes- man says it is earning about 70% of the gross limited payout gaming revenues in that province. Vukani has also applied for limited-payout licences in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and is awaiting the outcome. Limited-payout infrastructure is not cheap but could pay off in the longer term. There are a few more casino licences to be granted in various provinces, but limited payout seems to be the next growth sector in gaming in SA. Also on the horizon is the renewal of the licence to operate the national lottery in 2007, but the global experience is that Uthingo, as the incumbent, will more than likely be reappointed.

Source: Business Day: Cape Editor Dave Marrs edited this edition of The Bottom Line