North West-based hotel, casino and convention resort, Mmabatho Palms last week received a facelift worth a whopping R8 million. The upgrade includes the opening of the resort’s “all things cow” themed Moo Bar, renovations to the Leopard Conference Room and the Casino’ smoking area.

Mmabatho Palms’ New Moo Bar

The long-awaited Moo Bar has finally seen the light of day after the resort enticed its customers to ‘watch the space’ since they would be super delighted once it gets done. And honestly, it is “wow!”.

‘Moo’ on the bar’s title is actually the resonant vocal sound of a cow. And, that’s exactly the way the bar is themed. On a banner published by the casino resort before the renovations, there are artificial cattle and synthetic grass decorating the ceiling of the colourful bar.

The venue surely will attract a lot of customers because of the big screens installed, the promised live entertainment and outdoor chilling on the patio.

The Moo bar promises exciting events including happy hours, ladies nights and year-end gigs.

Leopard Conference Room and Smoking Casino upgrades

The Leopard event room also got face-lifted, as well as the smoking area at the Mmabatho Palms Casino.

The conference room now has new lights installed, new fancy carpets and a huge state-of-the-art projector screen.

A list of changes have also been made to the casinos’ smoking room. These include new wall paints, smoke extractors and a brand new ceiling. The bathrooms at the Smoking Casino also got an upgrade.

About Mmabatho Palms

Mmabatho Palms is one of the largest entertainment properties owned by award-winning group, Peermont Hotels, Casinos and Resorts. The company owns 13 operations across South Africa, Botswana and Malawi. Mmabatho Palms Resort is situated in Mafikeng, in the North West province. The South African casino just turned 40 recently, making it one of SA’s oldest casinos.

Nasir Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Shafiul Islam did not gamble at the East London casino which they were spotted at. In fact, the three cricketers only had ‘some food’ at the place. Those were the words of Bangladesh Cricket Board president, Nazmul Hasan. The BCB head clarified to the media on Tuesday while submitting his nomination papers for the upcoming board elections.

Bangladesh cricket players casino controversy

The three Bangladeshi cricket players made international headlines after reportedly being seen at a casino in East London – shortly after the team’s 200-run loss to South Africa in the final ODI on Sunday.

However, the reported stopover was against the time set by the team management.

“They returned at 10:34 pm whereas everyone is expected to go back to their room by 10,” says Nazmul. And, for this reason, the cricket board will probe and take necessary action against the three players for breaking team rules while on tour. “It was a mistake, and we will look into it, but from what I learnt they did not gamble and only had some food at the place. They went to a nearby shopping mall where they met [SA cricketers] AB de Villiers and Rabada, and later they went to the casino along with them. There were some machines placed in that place to play games,” he stated.

Bangladesh players’ fate

On Monday, the team’s manager in South Africa, Minhajul Abedin, issued a ‘soft denial’ saying the Bangladeshi players assured him that they would return to the accommodation in time.

However, the cricket board says it “will definitely investigate the matter and appropriate action”. In the meantime, the board is waiting for the team management to submit a report after the tour.

“If it was a matter of one player we could have taken a drastic step but as there are three cricketers involved we need to take some time,” said Nazmul.

So far, Bangladesh has lost all international fixtures on the current tour.

Crown Melbourne’s Crown Casino is in boiling water over allegations of deliberately tampering with slot machines to decrease the chances of players winning.

Three anonymous whistle-blowers – who claim to be Crown Casino’s ex-employees – made these serious allegations on a video interview tabled by Tasmanian politician and independent MP Andrew Wilkie. The 30-minute heavily-filtered footage was recorded at the Australian federal parliament on Wednesday.  The former employees also revealed allegations of drug use and domestic violence on Crown’s premises.

Crown Casino’s alleged misconducts

• The whistle-blowers claim that the casino used a team of experts to change game odds on the slot machines in order to reduce returns to players.
• Casino staff were instructed, by management, to use objects to jam buttons on the slot machines to allow players to gamble automatically – which is in breach of Australian gambling regulations.

The sources also reveal shocking allegations of fraudulent activities in the casino.

• They claim that Crown employees would encourage gamblers at the casino to use different identity cards when playing – this for the casino to avoid reporting amounts over 10, 000 Australian dollars to Austrac, a government financial intelligence agency responsible for monitoring money laundering and other illegal activities in Australia. Any transactions over R100 000 are required to report to this agency.

Drug and domestic abuse at Crown Melbourne

The former workers at Crown, one identified as a technician and the other as a gaming attendant, also made allegations of domestic abuse at Crown’s hotel. They mention how the resort turned a blind eye on an incident whereby an international guest and player at Crown Casino assaulted his wife. The sources say Crown Resorts failed to report the matter and instead separated the couple into different rooms.

The interviewees also allege that on a daily, casino players would openly smoke marijuana at one of the VIP gaming rooms and no action would be taken by management at the casino.

Crown’ statement on Crown Casino and overall resort allegations

The resort, owned by multi-billionaire businessman James Packer rejects the claims in a brief statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.  It says it calls on the MP to submit immediately, all the information relating to the allegations to relevant authorities.

Conclusion

According to numerous reports, Crown Resorts’ shares declined by more than 8 percent when these allegations surfaced. The resort lost more than AU$350 million in share price.

Relevant authorities are looking into the allegations against Crown Casino and the resort’s hotel.

One of Africa’s largest tourism, leisure and gaming group, Sun International Limited has recently concluded a R352.82 million deal with Thunderbird Resorts Inc. The deal is for Sun International to acquire 100% of Thunderbird’s numerous Peruvian-based companies running four gambling operations in Peru. Inclusive in the deal is immovable property of which the Fiesta Casino sits in Lima worth $10m.

Sun International and Thunderbird Resorts Deal

The casino and hotel operator mentioned that it entered the share purchase agreement with Thunderbird Resorts through its Latin American-based subsidiary Sun Dreams. This is a chance for the subsidiary to boost its presence in the Peruvian market, and to also expand its profile of assets in the area.

The targeted gambling operations are responsible for running restaurants, casinos, slot machines, gaming and other businesses relative to casino entertainment.

Sun International stated that it would use Sun Dreams’ current cash reserves to settle the acquisition payments.

The overall acquisition will be effective on or before the 31^st of January 2018.

The current deal’s impact on Sun Dream’s Latin American operations

CEO of Sun International, Anthony Leeming, said the group had intentions to downscale part of Sun Dreams’ Panama operations, and close a leased property in Colombia citing that the two operations were not significant for the group’s businesses in Latam.

Leeming further mentions that the balance sheet in the region was not over-geared. However, the one in South Africa is, and the company was looking for options to address the matter.

About Sun International

Sun International is one of the leading brands in the gaming and hospitality sector and has been in operation since the late 70s.  Its first entry into Latam started in Chile in 2008 – followed by operations in Colombia and Panama. In 2015, the group merged its Latin American operations with Chile-based hotel and casino operator Dreams SA.

Sun International will surely rank high with the recent Peru deal.

Mobile company Cell C has announced its recent partnership with ClickaBet – an online sports betting service owned by former Altech CEO Craig Venter.  The partnership between Cell C and the new kid on the block is in a bid to offer the mobile operator’s SA subscribers a convenient sports betting service on mobile.

Mobile Sports Betting in SA

The mobile sports betting service is a first of its kind in South Africa. Cell C customers will now be able to place bets via their mobile devices using a USSD interface and a newly launched prepaid debit card.

ClickaBet CEO, Craig Venter believes that “mobility and being able to bet anywhere and at any time is a key differentiator in the sports betting industry.” Venter says “customers are looking for convenience and privacy, which this value-added service offers.”

Cell C CEO, Jose Dos Santos says the company is “proud to be the first and only mobile operator in South Africa to offer sports betting via USSD to the market.” Moreover, mobile operators in other countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania have launched similar gambling solutions successfully.

Cell C and ClickaBet’s Mobile Sports Betting Service

The new mobile sports betting service, powered by Cell C and ClickaBet promises to be affordable and quite easy to use.

How do I sign-up?

In order to participate, players need to first visit their nearest Cell C store with their FICA documentation and sign-up for a ClickaBet prepaid debit card which sells for R57.

Cell C customers can register via USSD by dialling *147# and selecting option 10 on the menu.

Upon registering, users will receive a free betting credit of R25.

In addition, users can use their ClickaBet card to purchase data, prepaid airtime or pay for electricity and other products.

How do I make deposits and withdrawals?

ClickaBet cardholders can deposit funds onto the card by either EFT or via ABSA ATMs.

If you happen to win a bet, you can access your winnings via the USSD menu and can withdraw at any ATM in South Africa.

Alternatively, you can spend your winnings at any outlet where MasterCard debit cards are accepted.

Conclusion

The mobile sports betting service is only available to Cell C customers. Cell C links the subscriber’s mobile number to their ClickaBet card upon registration. The service will soon be launched in Gauteng with hope to expand nationally thereafter.

In addition, players need to be aware of that the service is limited to only popular sports; soccer, tennis and rugby. However, the good news is that the service charges no pay-out fee, and has no withdrawal limits.

We all know that South Africa is doing its best catching on to this Halloween craze – a celebration which the country and other parts of the world adopted from American culture. Well, adding to that movement is one of SA’s top online casinos, Springbok Casino.

Springbok Casino has a special Halloween offering – in the form of an online slot – coming your way.

Springbok’s Bubble Bubble 2 Slot

Remember Winni? The sexy Witch with a huge cleavage, dressed in high-heels, stockings and lingerie from Bubble Bubble. She’s back on the reels on Springbok Casino, and this time around she brings along her racy sister Wanda.

Titled ‘Bubble Bubble 2’, the much-anticipated ghostly slot was developed by major online casino software provider, Realtime Gaming. The online game is specially tailored to suit the Halloween season.

In a press release on their website, Springbok Casino promises gamblers a thrilling, yet exciting odyssey with this online slot. The statement tells us that the two sisters, Winni and Wanda “are brewing up something in their cauldron, enchanting the reels with hosts of ghosts, ghouls and all manner of freaky manifestations.”

The manager of Springbok Casino, Daniel van Wyk, added to the chills saying that the online casino knows that players “[will] fall under the spell of the enchanting Bubble Bubble 2”. However, daring players are invited to channel these spirits and win big.

Bubble Bubble 2 Game Features and Bonuses

Bubble Bubble 2 on Springbok Casino promises exciting features.  The online casino mentions that there are three thrilling bonus rounds which players can trigger by simply clicking on any of three sticks the moment they appear on their screens. Here’s a glimpse of the features on Bubble Bubble 2:

• The Greater Ghosts – players get 20 free games after every single spin
• Ultra Bewitched – players receive seven games for free
• Wilder Witches – players are rewarded nine free online games

South African players also stand a chance to win other bonus prizes.

Conclusion

Bubble Bubble 2 is a long-awaited sequel to hugely popular online slot Bubble Bubble. We bet players will enjoy this new development since now it’s double the trouble – with Winni bringing along her sister Wanda. Plus, there are crazy prizes to be won.

Springbok Casino will exclusively debut Bubble Bubble 2 on 11 October as part of celebrating Halloween Month 2017.