Magister Commercii - MCom / The study has three objectives; firstly to assess the (manner of) implementation of black economic empowerment (BEE) principles by casino licence operators in the Western Cape, namely GrandWest, Casino Mykonos, and Caledon Casino & Spa, during the construction and initial operation phases; secondly, to discuss casino gambling from a marketing strategy theory perspective; and thirdly, to measure consumer behaviour theory as demonstrated by casino patrons. Government(s) and casino industry executives present casino gambling as a source of revenue and employment, and disregard the social costs incurred by society in the production of this revenue and employment sustenance.This study is an evaluability assessment study where reports from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board‟s social equity committee where used for the objective of the study. As a result, the sample of the study was formed by the three above-mentioned casinos that were operating in the Western Cape at the beginning of the project. The proposed government strategy on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was critiqued to try and understand the government‟s position relative to the initiative. The social equity committee monitoring reports where analysed to assess the performance of casino operators relative to their BEE undertakings in their licences. Data formed by reports and literature has been summarised and presented to try and help in clarifying the position of casino gambling on black economic empowerment and specifically the (economic) empowering of host communities and society at large.Recommendations where made with the view highlighting the need for a strategy towards greater empowerment of host communities. As a result, the researcher suggests that further research be conducted into the relationship between the profitability of a casino and proliferation of social problems attributed directly to the presence of a casino complex.