• Residents of Bo-Kaap were up in arms when they saw an application for a bookmaking licence in the Western Cape government gazette.
• Almost 4 000 people signed a petition saying "no to casinos" in the area.
• But the applicants have assured the public they will only be operating online.

Residents of the largely Muslim community of Bo-Kaap in Cape Town were up in arms this week over reports that there was an application to open up a casino in their area.

This followed a notice in the provincial gazette that ClevaBets was applying for a bookmaker's licence, with their business address listed in Jordaan Street.

Described as the city's oldest surviving residential neighbourhood, residents have fought against gentrification and intrusions on the heritage and cultural legacy of the area.

Objections in a petition against a casino said the location was close to several religious institutions, and public and religious schools, and would cause disruptions to traffic and parking in the residential area.

Almost 4 000 people had signed it by Wednesday morning.

"We want to keep Bo-Kaap authentic. Bo-Kaap has a rich Islamic Heritage. Let'ts preserve that," wrote Ashmaan Timol.

'Impacted badly'

Adeela Jabaar shared: "Yes, times are changing, but the rich history of this area will be impacted badly with a casino there. It will just not sit right with what Bo-Kaap stands for."

Morne Pieterse, head of legal affairs at ClevaBets, explained to News24 that they wanted to start an online bookmaking website.

"Gambling legislation says that if you apply for a licence to gamble, whether online or not, you do also need to apply for a premises which is attached to the online licence," he said.

"No shop is going to be opened, no casino is going to be built."

He initially said that, at most, administrative staff for the website would have been based in a small office on the premises.

But the next day, he told News24 he had changed his mind.