Tsogo Sun’s Somerset West casino relocation hits major roadblock

Major rival Sun International will challenge the decision by regulators to allow Tsogo Sun to relocate its Caledon casino licence to the Helderberg region in the Cape Town metro, effectively halting this investment for now.

This is buried in Sun International’s results for the 2025 financial year (to end December), which were released in March.

Read: Tsogo Sun secures Somerset West casino licence after 10-year wait

In September, Tsogo announced that it had finally received approval from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB), which marked the end of a very lengthy regulatory impasse that spanned over a decade.

This deadlock is now being extended by Sun International.

In its presentation in March, Sun International CFO Norman Basthdaw said that “following the decision taken by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board regarding the licence relocation, the group has resolved to take that decision on review. We will continue to engage through the appropriate legal and regulatory processes.”

It remains uncertain how long this delay will be, but a judicial review could easily span a number of years.

Sun International is likely to seek an interim interdict shortly (if it hasn’t already done so), which would be followed by a review in the Western Cape High Court.

Plus, that court’s decision could also be appealed. Essentially, the courts will decide on whether how the decision was made was fair and rational. One insider expects the delay to be at least 24 months.

Moneyweb understands that Sun International had originally not planned to challenge the WCGRB’s decision but that a talent war – which saw some defections from its increasingly important SunBet operation to Tsogo’s online betting unit, playTsogo – forced its hand.

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In 2025, Sunbet delivered profits (adjusted Ebitda) of R744 million, more than double the amount it booked in 2024. Already, this is its biggest profit-centre across the group as it has quickly grown to one of the top five online betting platforms in the country.

Read:
Sunbet now more profitable than cash cow GrandWest
Online gambling: Don’t let good intentions lead to bad policy
Construction begins on R650m GrandWest Mall development

SunWest’s GrandWest, which enjoys practical exclusivity in the Cape metro, reported adjusted Ebitda of R625 million last year (it has an estimated market share of 81% of the entire province’s casino revenue).

Upping the ante

It is understood that while the lost talent were not executives, many were in senior and in prominent operational roles within Sunbet.

Simon Gregory, the CEO of Sunbet, was not one of those who was recruited by Tsogo. He joined Sun International in January 2022 and has 15+ years of experience in online betting and gaming. He remains CEO of the unit.

To strengthen its executive team, it appointed Leslie Peters, ex-Games Global (neé Derivco), as chief technology and product officer in November 2025.

Read:

Sun International’s digital strategy paying off

Sun International scoops SA Corporate’s Nomzamo Radebe

Under Sun International’s new CEO Ulrik Bengtsson, who took over in July 2025, it has recruited well, with Mark Sergeant joining from the UK as COO of land-based casinos in February and Nomzamo Radebe taking over as COO of hospitality and sales (she was previously COO of SA Corporate Real Estate).

Tsogo’s hand

Tsogo said in November that “the addition of a casino in the broader Cape Town area will ultimately provide the Tsogo Sun customer base with a superior property in a desirable area to visit and will provide exciting new facilities to the surrounding communities of this unserved outlying area of Cape Town.

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“The development cost for the Somerset West site is estimated to be approximately R1.29 billion, at current values, over two years (final detailed costings are still being completed), subject to no interruptions to the regulatory and construction processes”.

Tsogo’s existing casino The Caledon remains trading.

It has over 300 slots as well as tables and a 95-bed hotel.

Across the Western Cape (it no longer splits the performance of its individual properties) Tsogo’s casinos, comprising The Caledon, Garden Route Casino (Pinnacle Point in Mossel Bay) and Mykonos (Langebaan), reported income of R573 million and adjusted Ebitda of R219 million for the year ended 31 March 2025.

It would be fair to suggest that The Caledon is very roughly half of each of these figures.

Read:
Tsogo Sun loses R30m on City Lodge disposal
SA, we have a (gambling) problem

The entire relocation process is premised on Tsogo taking a chunk of GrandWest’s current market share (Sun International’s relocation of The Carnival to Time Square in Menlyn effectively nibbled at Tsogo’s dominance in Gauteng with Montecasino, and probably shaved off some market share from Peermont’s Emperor’s Palace).

In 2025, GrandWest had income of R1.85 billion and adjusted Ebitda of R625 million.

There’s a lot to fight for.

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