National Lottery licence awarded to Sizekhaya Holdings amid legal disputes
Sizekhaya Holdings, a consortium partly owned by gambling company Goldrush, is the next operator of the National Lottery for the next eight years.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau has named Sizekhaya Holdings, a consortium partly owned by gambling company Goldrush, as the next operator of the National Lottery for the next eight years.
Sizekhaya is led by KwaZulu-Natal businessmen Moses Tembe and Sandile Zungu, the owner of AmaZulu Football Club.
Last week, Judge Sulet Potterill ordered Tau to announce the bidder by May 28 and declared the decision to issue a temporary licence unconstitutional. However, to prevent lottery ticket sales from halting, Potterill suspended the order for five months, allowing a temporary licence to be awarded for that period.
Making the announcement on the court-ordered date, Tau said on Tuesday that he had intended to announce the successful bidder on the same date, provided that licence agreement negotiations were successfully concluded.
However, Tau also further said that he will seek legal advice to appeal the Pretoria High Court's findings and orders that forced his hand to make this announcement.
'With due respect to the Honourable High Court, my announcement fulfills my undertaking to the bidders and the Court before the hearing of the application. This concludes a long and challenging process of evaluating eight applications for the fourth licence. I appreciate that this has been an enormous and complex endeavour,' he said.
The National Lottery is currently operated by Ithuba Holdings, whose licence expires on May 31. Due to delays in announcing the successful bidder, a temporary licence awarded to Ithuba Lottery, a sister company of Ithuba Holdings, will take effect on June 1. Thereafter, Sizekhaya is expected to assume operations for eight years.
Tau has not clarified the lingering uncertainty regarding when Sizekhaya's licence will commence, with expectations that Ithuba Holdings will operate for an additional five months until the new operator takes over.
The announcement comes as the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) launched an urgent application to amend a Johannesburg High Court order limiting the temporary licence to five months. The NLC argues that unless the order is revised to allow the temporary licence to remain valid for a full year, lottery sales will cease on Sunday, 1 June, as it would not be financially viable for Ithuba Lottery to continue.
The licence has been the subject of extensive litigation in the Gauteng High Court, initiated by one of the bidders, Wina Njalo. Wina Njalo claimed that Minister Tau favoured Ithuba by delaying the announcement and deciding to issue a temporary licence. They argued that only Ithuba had the infrastructure in place to qualify for the temporary licence.
Ithuba Holdings' licence was previously extended for two years, making it ineligible under the Lotteries Act to receive another licence. However, a separate entity, Ithuba Lottery, which shares directors with Ithuba Holdings, also bid for the licence.
Sizekhaya's leading bid has sparked controversy, with parliamentarians from the EFF and Build One South Africa questioning how the bid was awarded.
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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "It was an intense meeting, and the minister knew what impact it would have on the country's economy given the scale of the tender and people relying on playing the lotto week in and week out," a source said. Ithuba had argued in court that if they accepted a five-month extension, they would incur a loss of R51 million. Ithuba has agreed to continue operating the National Lottery, ensuring that all games, draws, and prize payouts will proceed normally. The company has reassured the public that they will maintain their commitment to integrity, transparency, and the benefit of South Africans. "As a proudly 100% black-owned South African operator, Ithuba remains steadfast in its commitment to operate the National Lottery with integrity, transparency, and for the benefit of South Africans," the company stated on Saturday. While this agreement provides short-term relief, the long-term future of the National Lottery remains uncertain. Sizekhaya Holdings, the preferred bidder, is set to take over the lottery in June 2026, but questions remain about the transparency of the licensing process and the impact of further legal challenges. Announcing the preferred bidder Tau said he had received a report from the NLC regarding the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations with the preferred bidder for the Fourth National Lottery and Sports Pools Licence. 'I am pleased to announce that I have awarded Sizekhaya Holdings (RF) (Pty) Ltd ('Sizekhaya') the licence in terms of section 13 of the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997. As I indicated previously, I intended to announce the successful bidder on 28 May 2025 provided that the licence agreement negotiations with the preferred bidder were successfully concluded. I wish to thank the parties to the negotiations for completing their work in time. 'It is most unfortunate that this matter has already become the subject of litigation and a judgment of the High Court. I am seeking legal advice with a view to appealing against the judgment's findings and orders, and I reserve all my rights concerning this judgment. 'With due respect to the Honourable High Court, my announcement is the result of my undertaking made to the bidders and the Court before the hearing of the ends a long and difficult process of evaluating eight applications for the fourth licence. I appreciate that this has been an enormous and complex endeavour,' Tau said. On Sunday, Sizekhaya Holdings chairperson Moses Tembe, expressed his gratitude for being awarded the fourth lottery licence by the National Lottery "We welcome that the honourable Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau appreciated the power of our vision. When the National Lottery was first mooted after the ushering in of our democracy, the most compelling argument for its existence was income it could generate to help the poorest and most vulnerable of South Africans," said Tembe. Tembe is a co-owner with Sandile Zungu, the owner of Amazulu Football. Ithuba had previously expressed disappointment at the decision to award the license to Sizekhaya Holdings, stating that they had invested significantly in developing the lottery infrastructure and had made significant contributions to good causes. "As a fully South African-owned and black-empowered operator, Ithuba Lottery has invested significantly in developing the first African central lottery system, owned and developed for Africa by South Africans," the company stated.
