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South Africa lottery sales miss forecast as Tau considers appeal
The National Lotteries Commission said Sizekhaya's ticket sales were 39% below its bid forecast. A court has ordered the trade minister to reconsider the licence award.
South Africa's national lottery operator Sizekhaya Holdings recorded ticket sales well below its forecast, the regulator told lawmakers on 10 November, as trade minister Parks Tau considered whether to appeal a court ruling overturning its licence award.
National Lotteries Commission executive manager Tintswalo Nkuna told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition that Sizekhaya had projected around R3.5 billion in ticket sales in its bid. Actual sales were R2.1bn, or 39% below that projection, iGaming Business reported.
Sales were also 21.7% below the revised 2026–27 forecast. Nkuna said the commission had expected a decline because players are often wary of a new operator.
Sizekhaya began running the lottery on 1 June 2026, succeeding Ithuba Holdings, which had operated it for 11 years. The committee hearing took place eight days after the court overturned Tau's award of the licence to Sizekhaya.
Losing bidders Ithuba Lottery and Ringeta Consortium brought the case. The tender evaluation committee had ranked Ringeta first with 73.92 points, followed by Sizekhaya with 72.95. An NLC board committee recommended Ringeta, while a separate ministerial committee established by Tau recommended Sizekhaya.
Judge Norman Davis found that the ministerial committee had rescored bids outside the tender rules. He accepted that Tau had acted in good faith but ruled that the creation and use of the committee was “unlawful and procedurally unfair”.
The court rejected Ithuba's argument that Sizekhaya lacked fully committed funding when it won the licence. Its ruling does not prevent Sizekhaya from winning the licence again.
The licence agreement was declared invalid, and Tau must reconsider the award without the ministerial committee's report. He has six months to make a fresh decision, followed by another six months to sign an agreement and arrange a handover if a different operator is chosen. Sizekhaya can continue running the lottery for up to a year.
NLC chair Tembinkosi Bonakele defended Tau's decision to seek further advice and said the commission's board was waiting for the minister to decide whether to appeal.