Government plans national lottery: A shift toward state control amid concerns of corruption
Since its inception, a private company has been responsible for operating the lottery and selling tickets. That is set to change in 2034.
The government plans to introduce a state-run national lottery instead of using a private operator, as has been the case since the Lotto was launched 25 years ago.
Details of the intention to effectively nationalise the lottery were revealed in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the latest operator licence, which has been awarded to the Sizekhaya Consortium.
If a state lottery were to be implemented, it would only happen in 2034, when Sizekhaya's eight-year licence, which commences on 1 June 2026, expires.
The concept of a state-run lottery was first introduced in a 2013 amendment to the Lotteries Act but was never implemented.
National Lotteries Commission commissioner Jodi Scholtz told GroundUp that the provision for a state-run national lottery in the amendment 'was in part a response to the disruption experienced in 2007, when the country found itself without an active lottery operator for several months' due to litigation.
'This legislative provision was intended to ensure continuity of the lottery and protect public interest and revenue streams designated for good causes, should similar challenges arise in the future,' she said.
The issue of a state-run lottery was hotly debated by the trade and industry portfolio committee during the previous, sixth Parliament. There were disagreements among MPs about the wisdom of nationalising the lottery, with some arguing that in light of the corruption at state entities this could lead to further misappropriation of funds. Those who were for nationalisation said it would reduce profiteering by the licence holder.
One of the champions for nationalisation was former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board member Dr Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who argued for a state-run lottery when he unsuccessfully applied for the post of NLC chairperson. Madzivhandi, who subsequently died, corruptly benefited from lottery grants.
Since the amendment, several policy and legal review processes had been conducted 'to explore the practical implementation of this provision,' said Scholtz.
Yamkela Fanisi, the spokesperson of trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau, failed to respond to questions about the prospect of a state-run lottery and the reasons for the possible change.
Transition to state lottery
In terms of the Request For Proposals, bidders for the fourth lottery licence were 'required to commit to positioning the state to transition from privately operated National Lottery and National Sports Pool operations to a state-owned and operated National Lottery'.
Applicants were informed that they had to 'demonstrate their ability to capacitate the state to prepare for and ultimately become the operator of the National Lottery and the National Sports Pool at the expiry of the Licence Period'.
They were also required to provide a plan for how they would 'support the state in developing the necessary infrastructure, skills, and capacity to operate the National Lottery and Sports Pool' — a key part of the Request For Proposals deals with the transfer of rights to technology to operate the lottery.
Responding to questions, Sizekhaya sent an unsigned written reply: 'Genlot [its Chinese tech partner] has assigned intellectual property rights for its lottery software to its 51% locally owned subsidiary, Genlot SA.'
In terms of its agreement, Genlot SA is authorised to transfer this intellectual property (IP) to 'the South African state if it decides to operate the lottery in the future', Sizekhaya responded, declining to disclose details of the terms and conditions of such a rights transfer.
Opening the door to corruption and waste
The prospect of a state-run lottery opening the door to corruption and inefficiencies in light of what happened at many parastatals and government entities, where billions of rand were lost, was raised by some critics.
The DA's Mat Cuthbert, who played a key role in Parliament in helping expose the endemic corruption that overwhelmed the National Lotteries Commission under its previous leadership, said: 'At the time, the National Lotteries Commission only had access to approximately 34% of all revenue generated by the National Lottery, housed under the NLDTF (National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.) One can only imagine how much more public funding would have been stolen had they had access to the approximately R7-billion generated in ticket sales revenue per annum.'
Professor Alex van den Heever of the Wits School of Governance was also sceptical of a state-run lottery. The wide discretion granted to the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to appoint the board, commissioner and distributing agencies 'has been a recipe for corruption as a single person appoints all the strategic decision-makers', he said.
The move to a proposed 'state-led approach failed to address the corporate governance flaws of the original configuration', Van den Heever said.
'Ministerial discretion, the likely driver of structural corruption to date, is retained at the same levels as before. There is therefore a high likelihood of ministerial overreach, exacerbated by a general absence of independent supervision, institutional safeguards, added to the uncertain capabilities of state structures.
'It is my expectation that this approach is designed to facilitate state capture and corruption of various forms — improper appointments, corruption in procurement and the selection of distributing agencies. The new provisions specify that certain accountability structures need to be implemented, which are inadequate, with their design and implementation vulnerable to the wide discretion of the minister. This discretion enables the minister to circumvent any implemented formal structures.
'When power is concentrated, circumvention is relatively straightforward. In my assessment, the same levels of corruption as before are likely to persist into the future. Nothing is cured by this change.' DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
9 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Government plans national lottery: A shift toward state control amid concerns of corruption
Since its inception, a private company has been responsible for operating the lottery and selling tickets. That is set to change in 2034. The government plans to introduce a state-run national lottery instead of using a private operator, as has been the case since the Lotto was launched 25 years ago. Details of the intention to effectively nationalise the lottery were revealed in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the latest operator licence, which has been awarded to the Sizekhaya Consortium. If a state lottery were to be implemented, it would only happen in 2034, when Sizekhaya's eight-year licence, which commences on 1 June 2026, expires. The concept of a state-run lottery was first introduced in a 2013 amendment to the Lotteries Act but was never implemented. National Lotteries Commission commissioner Jodi Scholtz told GroundUp that the provision for a state-run national lottery in the amendment 'was in part a response to the disruption experienced in 2007, when the country found itself without an active lottery operator for several months' due to litigation. 'This legislative provision was intended to ensure continuity of the lottery and protect public interest and revenue streams designated for good causes, should similar challenges arise in the future,' she said. The issue of a state-run lottery was hotly debated by the trade and industry portfolio committee during the previous, sixth Parliament. There were disagreements among MPs about the wisdom of nationalising the lottery, with some arguing that in light of the corruption at state entities this could lead to further misappropriation of funds. Those who were for nationalisation said it would reduce profiteering by the licence holder. One of the champions for nationalisation was former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board member Dr Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who argued for a state-run lottery when he unsuccessfully applied for the post of NLC chairperson. Madzivhandi, who subsequently died, corruptly benefited from lottery grants. Since the amendment, several policy and legal review processes had been conducted 'to explore the practical implementation of this provision,' said Scholtz. Yamkela Fanisi, the spokesperson of trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau, failed to respond to questions about the prospect of a state-run lottery and the reasons for the possible change. Transition to state lottery In terms of the Request For Proposals, bidders for the fourth lottery licence were 'required to commit to positioning the state to transition from privately operated National Lottery and National Sports Pool operations to a state-owned and operated National Lottery'. Applicants were informed that they had to 'demonstrate their ability to capacitate the state to prepare for and ultimately become the operator of the National Lottery and the National Sports Pool at the expiry of the Licence Period'. They were also required to provide a plan for how they would 'support the state in developing the necessary infrastructure, skills, and capacity to operate the National Lottery and Sports Pool' — a key part of the Request For Proposals deals with the transfer of rights to technology to operate the lottery. Responding to questions, Sizekhaya sent an unsigned written reply: 'Genlot [its Chinese tech partner] has assigned intellectual property rights for its lottery software to its 51% locally owned subsidiary, Genlot SA.' In terms of its agreement, Genlot SA is authorised to transfer this intellectual property (IP) to 'the South African state if it decides to operate the lottery in the future', Sizekhaya responded, declining to disclose details of the terms and conditions of such a rights transfer. Opening the door to corruption and waste The prospect of a state-run lottery opening the door to corruption and inefficiencies in light of what happened at many parastatals and government entities, where billions of rand were lost, was raised by some critics. The DA's Mat Cuthbert, who played a key role in Parliament in helping expose the endemic corruption that overwhelmed the National Lotteries Commission under its previous leadership, said: 'At the time, the National Lotteries Commission only had access to approximately 34% of all revenue generated by the National Lottery, housed under the NLDTF (National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.) One can only imagine how much more public funding would have been stolen had they had access to the approximately R7-billion generated in ticket sales revenue per annum.' Professor Alex van den Heever of the Wits School of Governance was also sceptical of a state-run lottery. The wide discretion granted to the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to appoint the board, commissioner and distributing agencies 'has been a recipe for corruption as a single person appoints all the strategic decision-makers', he said. The move to a proposed 'state-led approach failed to address the corporate governance flaws of the original configuration', Van den Heever said. 'Ministerial discretion, the likely driver of structural corruption to date, is retained at the same levels as before. There is therefore a high likelihood of ministerial overreach, exacerbated by a general absence of independent supervision, institutional safeguards, added to the uncertain capabilities of state structures. 'It is my expectation that this approach is designed to facilitate state capture and corruption of various forms — improper appointments, corruption in procurement and the selection of distributing agencies. The new provisions specify that certain accountability structures need to be implemented, which are inadequate, with their design and implementation vulnerable to the wide discretion of the minister. This discretion enables the minister to circumvent any implemented formal structures. 'When power is concentrated, circumvention is relatively straightforward. In my assessment, the same levels of corruption as before are likely to persist into the future. Nothing is cured by this change.' DM
The Citizen
17 hours ago
- The Citizen
PowerBall: Your Chance to Win R53 Million Tonight
All players must be at least 18 years old to participate. The National Lottery aims to create new millionaires through the PowerBall and PowerBall Plus draws on Friday, 20 June. Tonight's total value of the estimated jackpot sits at R53 million. The draw takes place just after 9pm. PowerBall and PowerBall Plus estimated jackpots: PowerBall: R32 million PowerBall Plus: R21 million The last PowerBall draw had the highest amount won, sitting at R56,632.40. Each of the two players won this amount after correctly matching five numbers in the PowerBall Plus draw. ALSO READ: PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 How to play PowerBall? To play PowerBall, a player chooses five numbers between 1 and 50, followed by a PowerBall number between 1 and 20. The system also provides a quick pick selection method where it randomly chooses all the numbers on your behalf. PowerBall tickets are available on selected banking apps; terms and conditions apply. Tickets are available for purchase until 8.30pm on draw days (Tuesday and Friday). Tickets can also be purchased on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 11.30pm. The national lottery also gives you a chance to win money every day from the daily lotto. The draw takes place every evening just after 9.30pm. Tickets for the Daily Lotto can be purchased every day until 8.30pm. How to play Daily Lotto in SA? If you are buying a ticket in-store: Pick up a bet slip in any lottery store. Choose five numbers between 1 and 36 or ask for a Quick Pick. Entries cost R3 each. You can play a max of R150, but you are allowed to play multiple boards. Select how many consecutive draws you wish to enter, up to a maximum of 10. Leave blank for a single draw. Take your bet slip to the teller to pay for your ticket. Write your details on the back of your ticket in case you need to claim a prize. If you do not sign your ticket, and you lose it, anyone can use it to claim the prize. READ MORE: Daily Lotto results: Thursday, 19 June 2025 If you are playing online: Set up a lottery account here and make a deposit to pay for tickets. Choose five numbers from 1 to 36 or select 'Quick Pick' to generate a random set. Repeat this on as many boards as you want to play. Decide whether to enter a single draw or multiple draws. Confirm and pay for your entry. What happens after winning? Winners receive an SMS from their respective banks with a reference number and further instructions on the documents they should bring when visiting Ithuba. When a player wins less than R250 000, they get their money directly deposited into their bank account if they had used a banking app to play. For the winners who win more than R250 000, they get referred to the lottery operator, Ithuba, for a payout. Free financial and trauma counselling is given to all winners who win above R50 000, tax-free. Players must be at least 18 years old to participate.
The South African
18 hours ago
- The South African
Lucky Lotto jackpot winner turns R30 wager into R39.5 MILLION!
ITHUBA, operators of the National Lottery in South Africa, have confirmed that there were two winners of the Lotto jackpot on Wednesday, 18 June. The jackpot stood at R78 977 677.80, meaning each of the winners will pocket R39 488 838.90. The first winning ticket was purchased through the Standard Bank banking app with a R200 wager using the quick pick selection method, while the second winning ticket was purchased at a Day and Night Superstore in Yeoville in Johannesburg, with a R30 wager, also using the quick pick selection method. The winner who played via a banking platform has been notified of their winnings by their bank, while ITHUBA has urged everyone else who bought a ticket in-store to check their tickets. The winning numbers were 10, 13, 27, 30, 38, 39 and the bonus ball was 16. 'This draw not only produced one multi-millionaire, but two! Both winners will walk away with significant amounts of money that will undoubtedly change their lives,' says ITHUBA CEO, Charmaine Mabuza. 'The winner service team is eagerly awaiting the arrival of these winners and ready to help and support them every step of the way,' Mabuza added. To help winner's enjoy lasting benefits from their winnings, ITHUBA offers access to certified financial experts who provide valuable financial insights for winners of R50 000 and above. All winners have 365 days from the draw date to claim their winnings, and all National Lottery winnings are tax-free . Participants can check their tickets at retail stores or online through the National Lottery website or social media pages as there are more winners in other divisions. Players must be 18 years or older. Play responsibly. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
