Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Faces JSE Suspension

Africa’s Tallest Building to House 24-Hour Casino A group of foreign investors led by Italian billionaire Franco Rosco are pushing forward plans to set up a 61-floor luxu y hotel-cum-residential project in Malindi, Kenya, that will ultimately be Africa’s tallest building.

The mixed-use development, to be known as Palm Exotica, will feature tastefully furnished residential suites, eclectic restaurants and a vibrant 24-hour casino, a good feature for coastal entertainment.

Each intuitively designed floor plan, from studios, Presidential suites, exclusive Sky Apartments and Penthouse apartments are fitted with modern appliances and tasteful furniture. Floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive balconies will have uninterrupted views of the vibrant blues of the Indian Ocean and emerald tropical treetops.

Besides the casino, residents will also be spoilt for choice from a host of offerings including a casino, nightclub, retail mall, theatre and cinema, state-ofthe-art fitness centre, wellness spa and children’s play area as well as a 5-star hotel and its lavish facilities.

Palm Exotica, which will cost an estimated Sh28 billion, reserves its topmost floors for exclusive private apartments and penthouses.

The meeting area has 1,500-metre square set aside adjacent to a 550-metre square ballroom and a 500 metre square exhibition centre while the lower floors will house food and bever ge outlets.

“It is 20 minutes’ drive from Malindi Airport and 90 minutes from Mombasa airport as well as 45 minutes from Vipingo Ridge Old Club,” Palm Exotica says on its website.

South Africa’s largest horse racing operator, Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, is facing suspension from the JSE after it failed to submit its provisional report within the threemonth period stipulated in the JSE’s listings requirements. “Accordingly, the company’s listing on the JSE trading system has been annotated with an ‘RE’ to indicate that it has failed to submit its provisional report timeously and that the listing of this company’s securities is under threat of suspension and possible removal,” the JSE said on Friday last week.

THE JSE said that if Phumelela still failed to submit its provisional report by the end of November, its listing might be suspended.

However, in its trading update towards the end of last month, Phumelela informed its shareholders that it would release its results for the year to the end of July by November 29.

“Shareholders are advised that the company is in the process of finalising results for the 12 months to end July, which is taking longer than anticipated. As a result, it is now expected that the audited results will be released on SENS on or before November 29,” Phumelela said in a trading statement.

In the expected results, Phumelela said it was expecting to report a basic loss of between R80million and R100m, compared with a basic profit of R155.1m reported a year earlie .

At the recently-held conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Cape Gamblin Board, Mabutho Zwane was elected as Vice-President of the International Asssociation of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).

THIS CONFERENCE was hosted just after the Eastern Cape Gambling Board had hosted a very successful conference of the Gaming Regulators Africa Forum (GRAF), in which the effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the gaming industry across Africa were discussed.

IAGR works to advance the effectiveness and efficien y of gaming regulation throughout the world and provides a forum in which gaming regulators from various countries meet, exchange views and information, and discuss policy issues.

In addition, IAGR creates a means of fostering cooperation between gaming regulators in the performance of their official duties and is a central point of contact for inquiries from governments, gaming regulatory agencies and personnel, and representatives of the international gaming industry.

“This comes at a time when the Board has just received its 5th consecutive clean audit outcome fron the Auditor General South Africa and we really hope that our efforts will come in as added advantage in advancing gaming regulatory work,” said Zwane.

Adv. Mayosi, the Chairperson of the Gambling Board congratulated Zwane on his election and emphasised the need to continue improving the gaming regulatory work and having a representative in an international platform will surely go a long way in ensuring that we do just that.

Zwane’s election puts him in a position to be at constant engagement with international regulators and will expose the ECGB to benchmarking opportuinities and be able to share knowledge and gain insight on industry trends, especially during this Fourth Industrial Revolution which is bringing with it a lot of changes and opportunities for innovation for regulators across the gaming sector.