No dice to bingo, says Chatsworth
Sumptuous salmon Sweet-tooth sweethearts Community fuming about gambling plans
eThekwini municipality has rolled the dice on bringing a bingo hall to Chatsworth, a move that has left the community fuming.
Goldrush Gaming, a Gautengbased company, wants to open its first KwaZulu-Natal branch in Chatsworth Main, a shopping centre, and has plans for other locations in the province.
The plans for the gambling establishment were submitted last month.
The project was recently listed on an online classified adverts site and in a local daily newspaper by the municipality’s town planning sector, in accordance with its obligation to inform the public.
The venue will house 40 limited payout machines, a coffee lounge, dining facilities and a sports bar.
Raj Govender, a director of Gamhelp, an advice desk for gamblers, said if the project was approved, the Chatsworth community would face a similar fate to Phoenix residents who frequented the Sugar Mill Casino, which opened in 2001 as a temporary facility while Sibaya Casino was being built.
“What happened in Phoenix was devastating. Some people had to sell their homes — homes they had already paid off. Many people lost everything.
“It is very concerning. It seems like nothing was learnt from that situation. On a daily basis we see first-hand the damage that is done by gambling. The closer the venue, the bigger the impact.
“There are already so many forms of gambling. People can even gamble on their smartphones now. Why are more and more places opening?”
He said the social impact of the bingo hall was being ignored.
A spokesman for the KwaZuluNatal intergroup committee of Gamblers Anonymous South Africa, who would be identified only as Luke, said the establishment of gambling venues closer to home did not create gambling problems, but it did make it easier for problem gamblers to indulge their addiction.
He said problem gamblers tended to disregard the distance to gambling venues while in the grip of their compulsion. He added, however, that it would be best for gambling companies to discuss the implications of establishing venues in communities with residents.
One of Chatsworth Main’s other tenants, the Reverend Cyril Pillay, was not happy about the addition to the building. “With all the other social ills facing the community, something like this will just burden it further,” he said.
Rivasha Hurrisunker, Goldrush’s treasury administrator, said the company had begun the process six years ago and had been paying rental for the Chatsworth Main premises since then.
She said Goldrush had faced a stringent licensing process that included vetting its suitability as a responsible and compliant entity, and a public hearing.
“Goldrush believes the benefits that it brings to the community will prevail via the employment opportunities created, benefits to secondary businesses and the Goldrush Foundation, which seeks to uplift the communities in which it operates,” she said.
A municipal spokesman declined to comment.