The future of South Africa’s national lottery hangs in the balance after the Pretoria High Court dismissed an application by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to extend a temporary licence for a full year.
Ithuba Holdings, which has managed the lottery since 2015, will see its licence officially expire on 31 May. A previous court decision determined that any interim operator could only be appointed for a maximum of five months, rather than the 12 months the NLC had sought.
Earlier this week, Sizekhaya Holdings was announced as the incoming lottery operator. However, uncertainty surrounds how swiftly it can assume operations, raising concerns about potential service disruptions.
Initially, Ithuba Lottery, a sister company of Ithuba Holdings, was set to take over the lottery under a temporary one-year licence. But on 21 May, the court ruled against this plan, stressing that continued preferential treatment for Ithuba was unjustified. The ruling capped any temporary licence at five months.
The NLC later revealed that Ithuba has declined to accept a five-month contract, citing financial non-viability over such a short term.
With the licence deadline imminent and no agreement in place, the possibility of a pause in national lottery operations looms large.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party welcomed the court’s decision, warning that the outcome exposes the cost of political interference and governance failures. The party’s spokesperson, Sipho Tyira, noted that halting operations would affect machines, revenue, and grant funding, criticising what he described as a system plagued by favouritism and institutional capture.
Despite concerns about disruption, Judge Omphemetse Mooki emphasised that the lottery’s beneficiaries would not be left stranded. He pointed out that the Lotteries Commission has R2.2 billion in reserves, which can be used to continue supporting grant recipients during any transition period.
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