Tourism hospitality & leisure project highlights

Grant Thornton has assisted more than 15 casino licence applicants in the provinces of Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Limpopo with their casino bids, specifically:

• market and financial viability assessments for the casinos and all other elements
• economic and social impact assessments
• assisting with the writing of bid documentation
• delivering expert evidence on behalf of these applicants at the formal casino hearings.

Market and financial viability assessments and economic impact assessments for developments in other southern African countries, which included a casino component, specifically in Harare, Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls, Zambia. Specific assignments in the gambling sector include:

National Lotteries Board
Reviews in 1999 and 2006 of the independent evaluation of the final short-listed bids for South Africa’s national lottery licence.

Gold Reef Resorts
Fair and reasonable assessment for Gold Reef Resorts (listed on the JSE).

Other gaming experience
The following is a selection of assignments in other gaming sectors:

• reviewed lottery spending projections and route operator projections for Tattersals
• valuation of a bingo operator (current and future operations)
• compiled financial projections and pro-forma schedules for Shabingo as part of their application for bingo licences in Gauteng
• conducted the annual audits for Viva Bingo in 1998, 1999 and 2000
• study recommending the regional allocation of limited payout machines in the Western Cape for the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. This study included:
• quantification of all types of gambling in each region
• quantification of the gambling spend in each region
• quantification of the number of limited payout machines that each region could accommodate.