Botswana is one of Africa's success stories; a country of diverse
natural habitats, generous resources, and a fast-growing tourist sector,
attracted by its proximity to South Africa and also by its superb game
reserves and national parks. Botswana casinos are a growing sector of
the economy, and casinos have sprung up in several cities in the
country, including the capital, Gaborone, and the northern capital,
Francistown. Consequently, the Botswana government has taken great
steps to ensure that the development of Botswana casinos continues in
line with the growing numbers of foreign visitors.
Francistown is the largest city in northern Botswana and also home to
two casinos, the Marang Hotel, and the Admiral at the Thapama Hotel.
The city was the site of southern Africa's first "gold rush" in the mid
19th century, which brought people in from all over the globe in search
of their fortune. Unfortunately for them, the gold proved difficult and
costly to mine, and most of the mining operations fell into disuse,
though a few remain. Nowadays, the casinos of Francistown provide
visitors with the chance to strike it lucky; there is still gold here,
if only you are fortunate enough to find it!
Apart from Francistown, the other main center for Botswana casinos is
the capital, Gaborone. This is home to Botswana's largest casinos, the
Grand Palm Hotel Casino Resort, which has 17 table games and over 250
slots and video gaming machines, the Gaborone Sun Casino, which is the
oldest and biggest casino in Botswana, as well as a new development at
the Gaborone Hotel. As a result, the capital is making a bid to attract
some of the gambling business away from its northern rival, and make
itself a valuable stopover for foreign visitors on the way to the
national parks of Chobe and Okavango in the north of Botswana, which are
the country's prime tourist attractions at present.
Africans love gambling, and Botswana casinos are set up to appeal to
locals as well as visitors from abroad. Recognizing this, the
government has been careful not to overburden the Botswana casino
industry with regulations and red tape, although the industry is
obviously carefully scrutinized to ensure that it maintains the highest
standards of probity. Accordingly, the Botswana casino sector continues
to expand to meet the demand of visitors from far and wide, eager to
find their fortune, like the prospectors of old.
