The Great Chicken Escape

What is The Great Chicken Escape?

Revenue from land-based casinos increased 1.5% to R3.42 billion, while Sun International’s market share in South Africa grew 2.3% to 49%.

Land-based gross profit dipped 0.7% to R2 billion, however, with the company’s investment in the segment increasing over the period.

Bengtsson said the revenue gains from recent investment efforts should translate into improved operating leverage as the casino business continues to grow.

How to play The Great Chicken Escape

Spectrum blames Evolution’s “ineffective complaince procedures”, noting these activities appeared to go undetected by the supplier.

“In our judgment, Evolution’s ineffective compliance procesures have allowed these situations to develop and therefore need prompt reevaluation and enhancement in order to comply fully with the terms of the contracts,” the report reads.

“Evolution may be unwittingly susceptible to having its games played through third-party operators, in violation of its contracts…”

What is The Great Chicken Escape?

A 1% selective consumption tax (ISC) on the value of every online bet has been in force since 1 July 2025, after the original policy was scrapped from proposed regulations in July 2021.

Atucha warns that regulations are often perceived as operator-friendly at the start before governments begin looking to squeeze licensed sectors, likening the process to “boiling a frog”. He has observed similar scenarios in other LatAm markets, with tax increases occurring in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico in the last couple of years.

Rossi believes the ISC in Peru is an example of a government implementing new taxes without truly understanding how the industry works, and the potential impacts on channelisation to licensed offerings.