Tsogo Sun has placed its Goldfields Casino in Welkom up for sale as smaller regional casino properties face weaker trading and South Africa’s betting sector takes a growing share of gambling revenue.
Tsogo Sun has committed to selling its interest in Goldfields Casino and Entertainment Centre in South Africa’s Free State province.
The disposal was still subject to outstanding conditions at 31 March and the casino was classified as held for sale in the group’s annual financial statements.
Goldfields had assets valued at R81m (US$4.9m) and liabilities of R4m within the disposal group. Tsogo Sun said the business had been measured at fair value less costs to sell.
The casino operates around 250 slot machines alongside table games, restaurants, conferencing and entertainment facilities in Welkom.
Tsogo Sun previously attributed an impairment at Goldfields to declining trading in its local market and pressure on operating margins. The group identified its two smallest casinos and vacant land among assets considered unproductive or non-core during its latest financial year.
The wider disposal programme could generate R119m after tax, with proceeds allocated towards debt reduction or share buy-backs. The assets included in the programme contributed combined adjusted EBITDA of R11m during the year.
Tsogo Sun reported headline earnings of R1.57bn for the year to 31 March, an increase of 7%, while headline earnings per share rose by 8%. Group income remained broadly unchanged at R11.13bn.
Casino and hotel income fell marginally to R8.19bn, while adjusted EBITDA declined from R3.11bn to R3.03bn.
The group’s online betting operation moved in the opposite direction. Net gaming revenue increased by 24% to R313m and adjusted EBITDA reached R50m, compared with a R15m loss in the previous year.
Betting accounted for 69.9% of South African gambling GGR during 2024/25, compared with 22.2% for casinos. Casinos had represented 60.5% of the market in 2018/19, when betting accounted for 23.5%.
