Latest news with #lottery
News24
an hour ago
- Business
- News24
Alarm raised over plans for state-run lottery
Government plans to nationalise the South African lottery when the current private operator's licence expires in 2034. The new Sizekhaya Consortium must help the state develop skills and infrastructure to run the lottery itself from 2034. Critics warn that a state-run lottery could lead to more corruption, given the billions lost at parastatals and government entities. 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 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 (NLC) 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 that 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 have been conducted 'to explore the practical implementation of this provision,' said Scholtz. Yamkela Fanisi, spokesperson for 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 RFP, 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 RFP 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 had happened at many parastatals and government entities, where billions of rands have been 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 NLC under its previous leadership, said, 'At the time, the NLC 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.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Lottery Q&A: What are my odds and does it matter where I buy a ticket?
The shop that sold this week's winning EuroMillions ticket has been announced, has it? It has indeed. Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork City supplied the record-breaking €250 million ticket. Good for them. Do they get a big windfall too? Well, big is relative, isn't it? A shop that sells a winning ticket does indeed get a cash bonus from the National Lottery , with the amount depending on the nature of the winning ticket. A place that sells a winning Lotto ticket gets €15,000, falling to three grand if they sell a Lotto Plus 1 and €2,000 if they sell a Lotto Plus 2 ticket. Yeah, but they must really hit pay dirt if they sell a €250 million winner, right? Meh. The size of the cash sum given to shops for any particular lottery is the same no matter the jackpot. For selling a winning EuroMillions ticket, the Shandon Street Centra will collect €25,000. It is not to be sniffed at for sure but it is 0.01 per cent of the jackpot. What makes some of the prizes even less lavish than they first appear is that they have to be shared among shops if there is more than one winner. What do you mean? Well, it doesn't apply in this case, as there was just one winning ticket sold, but if a Lotto or EuroMillions jackpot is shard among two or more ticket holders, then the resulting cash the shops get must also be shared. READ MORE Still, better than nothing. Now, enough about the shops, let's get back to me. I didn't win the EuroMillions but is that because I bought my ticket in the wrong shop? Well, it is worth noting that the odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are 140 million to one against, which means you are far more likely to be struck by lightning several times. Mind you, the odds of you being born and able to read this sentence were around four trillion to one and yet that happened. But to get back to your question, the odds stay the same no matter where you buy your ticket although, there do appear to be some shops that are luckier than others. [ Graham Norton's pad and a trip to space: what else could Ireland's newest EuroMillions winner buy with €250m? Opens in new window ] I'm all ears ... Okay, so, there are quite a few shops in line for the title of the luckiest in Ireland. One of the top contenders is Carey's newsagents in Belmullet, Co Mayo. At the end of 2024 it sold the winning ticket for a jackpot worth just under €5.4 million. Back in 2017, one of its customers won €370,000, while in the same year another person – well, we have to hope they were different people – won €1 million in the Daily Million drawn. A year earlier it sold a jackpot-winning ticket worth just under €14 million while in 2015, a customer won the EuroMillions Plus top prize of €500,000. Then there was the €350,000 Lotto Plus 1 ticket it sold in 2012 and another jackpot-winning ticket worth €710,000 in 1991. That must be the luckiest shop in Ireland so? It depends on how you do your calculations. In 2005 the GO Stores in Garryowen, Limerick sold a EuroMillions quick pick to Dolores McNamara and she won €115 million. Ah, but that was a one-off, right? Actually no. In April 2024, the very same shop sold a winning ticket worth just under €9 million. Are there any other contenders? There are of course. There is the SuperValu in Bailieborough, which has sold three jackpot-winning tickets worth a total of almost €12 million. Wallaces in the Wexford town of Wellingtonbridge has also sold three tickets, with the cash value of its biggest prizes coming in at about €5 million. And while 13 might be an unlucky number for some, 2013 was a very lucky year for the Tesco in Mullingar, which sold not one but two jackpot-winning tickets worth a total of more than €11 million. That's a lot of lucky shops And there are more. The Centra in Ballybrack might also stake a claim, having sold a €86.7 million jackpot-winning ticket in 2014, while in 2016 a syndicate of friends won more than €66 million after buying a ticket in the Eason's store in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow. Eason's in Thurles also sold a €17 million jackpot-winning ticket in 2018. And what about online? It hasn't done great in the EuroMillions stakes so far, with only one winner, who recorded a €49.5 million haul in 2020. So, tell me this, am I better off buying a ticket in a shop that has sold loads of jackpot-winning tickets or one that has never sold any? If the odds of selling one ticket are long, the odds of selling two or three or four must be immeasurably longer? Honestly, it doesn't make the slightest difference. Your odds of winning the EuroMillions will remain at, as we said, 140 million to one no matter where you buy your ticket. The odds of winning the regular Lotto are almost 11 million to one and no amount of superstition or lucky numbers is going to change that fact.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Cork: €250m EuroMillions ticket shop revealed
The winning ticket in a €250m (£213m) EuroMillions jackpot was sold at a shop in Cork city in the Republic of Ireland, the Irish National Lottery has winner, who has already contacted the company but has not been identified, bought the ticket at Clifford's Centra store in Shandon shop owner, Ted Clifford, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ there was a "great buzz".He added he had "no idea" about the identity of the winning ticket holder. He also revealed his shop sold a €100,000 (£85,000) winning ticket on New Year's Eve."I think this is when our luck started for the winning streak", he said."I send my warmest congratulations to the winner and their family, and hopefully they'll have good fortune with their money."He added that staff at the shop were planning "a big celebration".
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Great buzz' at Irish shop which sold EuroMillions jackpot-winning ticket
The Irish shop which sold the winning EuroMillions ticket is going to have a 'big celebration', its owner has said. Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork city has been announced as the shop which sold the 250 million euro jackpot-winning ticket. Owner Ted Clifford said the news is 'very exciting'. With sweltering temperatures across Ireland on Friday, he said: 'It is definitely going to be the hottest day of the year at Shandon Street.' Mr Clifford, who was informed of the win on Thursday evening, initially believed it was a 'wind up'. However, he said it is not the first time the shop has sold a big-prize ticket. 'It is fantastic news – this all kicked off on New Year's Eve when we sold a 100,000 euro ticket to a local person. 'That's when our luck, or winning streak, started.' 📞🤩 The moment Clifford's Centra, Shandon Street, Cork City, found out their shop sold the winning #EuroMillions ticket of €250 MILLION! #ItCouldBeYou 18+ Play Responsibly Play for Fun — The Irish National Lottery (@NationalLottery) June 20, 2025 Mr Clifford, who is the third generation owner of the store which has been operating for 95 years, said he is 'proud to be part of the community'. Speaking on RTE radio's Morning Ireland, he sent his 'warmest congratulations' to the winner and their family. Asked if he knows who that might be, he replied: 'I have no idea, it's a busy shop – there's a lot of people in and out. 'Hopefully they will have good fortune with their money.' Mr Clifford said it is a 'life-changing amount of money', but the National Lottery will support the winner. He said he will use 25,000 euro in prize money for the shop to have a 'big celebration' with the staff. He said there was a 'great buzz' and 'a lot of people around' following the announcement. The winner of the jackpot has already contacted the National Lottery. It is the 18th Irish winner and the largest ever Irish win of the EuroMillions jackpot. The winning numbers from Tuesday's draw were 13, 22, 23, 44 and 49, with lucky stars 3 and 5. Irish National Lottery chief executive Cian Murphy had urged the winner earlier in the week to 'stay calm' as the 'massive' win could come as a shock. The EuroMillions jackpot is capped once it reaches 250 million euro – or £208 million on current currency conversions. This jackpot reached the maximum amount on Friday June 6 after rolling over several times. In total, more than 92,000 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games. The last Irish winner of the EuroMillions jackpot was in February 2022, when a person won 30.9 million euro with a quick pick ticket they purchased at a service station in Ballina, Co Tipperary.
BreakingNews.ie
6 hours ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Cork shop that sold winning €250m EuroMillions ticket revealed
Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork is celebrating selling the record breaking €250 million EuroMillions jackpot ticket. The National Lottery has confirmed the life-changing prize ticket was won by a customer who bought a ticket at the shop on the northside of the city centre. Advertisement The winner has made contact with the prize claims team. The winning numbers were 13, 22, 23, 44, 49, Lucky Stars 3 and 5. This is the 18th win in Ireland of the EuroMillions jackpot since it started in 2004. Spokesperson for the National Lottery, Emma Monaghan, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have heard from our EuroMillions winner. "At this point, our priority is to give them the necessary time and space to make arrangements and let this life-changing news sink in. "No other details will be revealed at this stage, however, the name of the winning Cork shop will be announced tomorrow." The previous Irish record was a family syndicate from Naul in Co Dublin in 2019, who claimed a prize of €175.4 million.
