It is definitely in the cards for the Eastern Cape in South Africa to host two large casinos that will be up and running by June of 2007.  However, just how these cards are going to be dealt in terms of who will be granted the coveted gaming licenses is anybody's guess.  The Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board said that although they already have a list of prospective bidders, they would not release any names at this time.  However, bidding does begin in January of 2006, after which the Board will divulge the names of the successful casino operators in September.

Construction on the two casinos will likely start in December of 2006, and will take place at a site in Queenstown-Aliwal North and one in the Mthatha-Port St. Johns area.  The casinos will cost millions to build, and are expected to generate large tax revenue for the sorely lacking East Cape region.  Although this revenue will not be able to put an end to the dire poverty in many East Cape towns, it will do much to boost the economy, create thousands of jobs, and to hopefully help fund governmental programs that would help curve the poverty.

Casino gambling is a large industry in South Africa, bring in an estimated 8.2 billion Rands each year.  It is very common nowadays to even see the best online casinos accepting Rands through their online cashier.  However, for the Eastern Cape, the betting industry was not doing as well as it was for areas like Guateng, which bring in nearly half of all yearly casino revenue.  Currently the Eastern Cape is only bring in approximately 7% of total casino revenue, which the Easter Cape Gambling and Betting Board is now attempting to change for the better.