About Snail Farming and Operating an Online Casino in RSA

Launching an online casino is one way of making money. Farming snails is another. According to international market reports, garden snails are worth their weight in gold. Whether it’s as high protein meat, a key cosmetics ingredient or fine caviar, these humble little gastropods can deliver!

Key Drivers of Snail Faming… and Operating an Online Casino

Most of us regard snails as pests. They chomp through our carefully cultivated salad greens and leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Now, South Africa has a booming industry based on propagating, processing and exporting snails in bulk.

It may not match the $2,5 billion gross gaming revenue generated by the likes of online casinos such as Springbok Casino. That said, the heliciculture industry in South Africa is on a major growth trajectory. Who knows, with time, farming snails may very well be on a par with operating a successful online casino!

What is driving the demand for snails? Climate change is adding impetus to an already vibrant market. Extreme weather and soil degradation are forcing us to re-think major food production. Farming livestock, like cattle, is adding to global greenhouse emissions and destroying the last vestiges of the world’s indigenous forests. There is also the fact that large farm animals require vast tracts of land, access to water and tons of feed.

Viable snail farms, capable of producing tons of broodstock and sales stock, are less than a hectare in size. The snails themselves require a little more than maize meal, vegetable peels, lettuce or cabbage to survive. In addition to minimal land usage and low overheads, the turnaround time from egg to mature adult is just six months.

Factor in an average production rate of 100 eggs to one snail – and heliciculture is effectively a self-sustaining operation. The ease and low cost of production is a significant driver of this type of agriculture.

Operating an online casino is even leaner. Afterall, they operate in the digital realm and physical space is not required. Online casino overheads are limited to:

• web and app design and development.
• front- and back-end management.
• salaries for customer support and admin staff.
• software purchases from gaming suppliers like Real Time Gaming (RTG).

That said, starting a new online casino and establishing it to rank amongst the top-rated in the industry is not an easy feat by any means. Many new virtual venues flop and fail before their brand gets any recognition. Players prefer to sign up and play at established and trusted online casinos, such as Springbok Casino!

Market Size: Snails vs an Online Casino

The size of the global market is another factor in snail farming. In Africa, snails are not widely considered as a food source. In Europe, Asia and – to a lesser extent – the Americas, it is another matter altogether.

According to the latest reports, around 400,000 to 450,000 tons of snails are consumed each year. The edible meat market itself is currently valued at more than $2 billion and projected growth is pegged at 6% per year. What is $2 billion in ZAR? In our neck of the woods, that is more than R34 billion in cash!

As we have already determined, the local gaming market is valued at R40,6 billion. That essentially means our home-grown online casino has about the same fiscal clout as garden gastropods world-wide. What is more, Springbok Casino slots are infinitely more entertaining than snails!

A Sought After Nutritious Snack… For Some

Why are snails in such high demand? They are high in protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and low in fat and cholesterol. In France, they are eaten from the shell as escargot. In Italy and Spain, snail meat is popular ingredient in a wide variety of dishes.

In the Far East, the meat is processed into spreads and added into pastries. Consumers can even buy snail burgers. In South Africa, most of the meat is processed locally and exported as either frozen or canned product. The rest is sold to restaurants.

Snail Caviar, Anyone?

In addition to the meat – or fillets as they are called – the eggs themselves are highly sought after. Consumers in Canada and the USA are prepared to pay top dollar for snail caviar. Current prices of the delicacy are about half that of Beluga caviar – around $4,000 per kilogram.

When you do a quick currency conversion, the asking price for snail eggs is in the region of R65,000… per kilogram. Imagine what a betting bankroll of that size could generate at the online casino?

South Africa is still a minnow when it comes producing and exporting snails. The big player on the global stage is Morocco. The North African country has more than a third of the world’s market share. Poland, Lithuania and – until recently – the Ukraine are also key producers and exporters of the high demand commodity.

Snail Slime and Its Healing Properties

Meat and caviar may be the traditional markets… but snails are becoming increasingly important to the cosmeceuticals industry. Slime harvested from live individuals is filtered and added to a number of other ingredients to produce a range of skin care and beauty products. The snails are then processed as meat.

It was the workers on a Chilean snail farm who first identified the healing properties of snail slime. While handling the gastropods, they noticed cuts and abrasions on their hands healed more quickly. Anecdotal evidence was backed by the scientific analyses of the health benefits of snail slime – and the results were illuminating.

According to the research, the icky, gooey substance excreted by the molluscs contains a mix of chemicals. One such by-product is known as GAGs or glycosaminoglycans. These are the molecules that help hydrate and soften the skin.

Today, snail slime is an active ingredient in all sorts of skin and beauty products. Moisturisers, face masques, skin repair serums and creams, containing snail derivatives, are popular worldwide. These products are apparently effective at reducing wrinkles, accelerating wound repair, lightening hyperpigmentation and eliminating acne scars.

Play at Springbok Online Casino for Other Great Benefits

Playing real money games at Springbok Casino has its own set of benefits, which comes more in the form of a sense of well-being. Gaming can be relaxing, entertaining and exciting – thus reducing stress and anxiety, all at the same time. A key proviso is to keep a tight rein on your bankroll and only play the online casino games that offer the best odds of winning.

When you do that, visiting the online casino can be both enjoyable and potentially rewarding. You may not get a share of the local multi-billion-rand gaming market – but you will have a great time hunting down the payouts! We also offer a host of other benefits in the form of casino bonuses and loyalty rewards.

As for a potentially lucrative new business idea, is snail farming something to consider? Based on the low start-up costs, negligible overheads and huge global demand, it may be the best business decision ever! In the meantime, we recommend that you sign up, claim your free no deposit bonus and login to Springbok Casino – you might bag enough cash to fund your new snail venture!