I know what will happen, people who earn very little will lose their earnings. Three years ago there was only one casino in the country, at the Gaborone Sun Hotel in the capital. The licence had been given to the then Holiday Inn in 1972, which had refused to build a hotel in Botswana unless it was allowed a casino. Today there is a casino in Francistown in the north east and two in Selebi Phikwe in the south. Low income people haunt the casinos.
People can even steal in order to have money to spend.
I pick up horror stories every day. Already Maun is home to various illegal gambling dens which frequently end in domestic and other fights as men gamble away everything from their furniture to their clothes. Sun International published its second application notice in July and residents had 60 days in which to object. This would seem to preclude Maun, marketed internationally as the gateway to the Delta. Mosienyane, who took up his post three years ago, says as yet there is no real policy in place.