In a play on its “Phanda Phusha Play” slogan, Ithuba Lottery has introduced “No Pause, Just Play” as it confirmed a 12-month temporary extension of its operating licence, while the incumbent licence holder, Sizekhaya, prepares to put systems in place.
In a statement yesterday, Ithuba said that after careful consideration and prioritising the interests of South Africans, it had reached an agreement with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and the National Lotteries Commission to operate the South African National Lottery, ensuring its ongoing contribution to good causes.
“As a proudly 100% black-owned South African operator, Ithuba remains steadfast in its commitment to operating the National Lottery with integrity, transparency, and for the benefit of South Africans. Participants can rest assured that all games, draws, and prize payouts will continue as normal – with the same exciting jackpots and seamless service they are accustomed to,” spokesperson Michelle van Trotsenburg said.
This follows Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau’s decision to award the 12-month extension to Ithuba to ensure ticket sales continued from June 1. He expressed concern with the High Court judgment of May 21, 2025, which found that the Request for Proposal for a Temporary Licence was invalid, and he has appealed this judgment.
However, in its judgment, the Court accepted that it is in the public interest for the National Lottery to continue operating to raise revenues for worthy causes, despite its dissatisfaction with the RFP process.
Tau added that another court affirmed his power to appoint a Temporary Licensee in its judgment of May 30, 2025, stating: “It would be surprising to the Court if the Minister were unable to appoint an operator on a temporary basis for a whole year. This is especially so because the Minister has more latitude in appointing a temporary operator, as opposed to a fully-licensed operator.”
“It is in the context of both the 21 and 30 May 2025 judgments that I received and accepted the advice from the Commission to appoint a temporary licence operator on an urgent basis. I am pleased that National Lottery operations will not be interrupted during the transition from the Third to the Fourth Licence operations and that worthy causes will continue to receive support,” Tau said.
The Minister’s decision comes as Pretoria High Court Judge Omphemetse Mooki dismissed the National Lottery Commission’s application to vary an order made by the court on May 21 to extend the temporary operating licence to 12 months, as the court was not persuaded that a case had been made for extending the period of suspension of invalidity.
In arguments leading to the award of the licence to Sizekhaya, law firm Nortons Inc successfully represented the Wina Njalo Consortium in an urgent review of several decisions by Minister Tau regarding the awarding of the fourth national lottery licence.
Judge Mooki noted that there was no substantive evidence that Ithuba Lottery would suffer a claimed loss of R51 million unless granted a temporary licence for a 12-month period. He further observed that Ithuba Lottery itself had not filed any affidavits in the matter, despite the application being premised on its position.
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