Parks Tau extends Ithuba’s lottery licence for another year
Ithuba has operated the SA National Lottery since 2015. Although its initial eight-year licence expired in 2023, the company has received two consecutive one-year renewals, allowing it to continue operating the lottery.
South Africa.- The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has granted a one-year extension to incumbent lottery operator, Ithuba Holdings, allowing lotto operations to continue uninterrupted.
Ithuba’s original lottery contract was set to expire at midnight on Saturday, May 31, 2025. However, hours before the deadline, Minister of Trade and Industry, Parks Tau, awarded a temporary licence to the company, bringing the total duration of Ithuba’s lottery operation to 11 years.
Ithuba has operated the SA National Lottery since 2015. Although its initial eight-year licence expired in 2023, the company received two consecutive one-year renewals, allowing it to continue operating the lottery.
A rival bidder took Parks Tau and the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition to court in an effort to prevent Ithuba’s third consecutive one-year renewal. On May 21, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the department could grant the company only a five-month licence extension.
On May 26, the National Lotteries Commission filed a court application to extend the licence period from 5 to 12 months. According to the commission’s court filing, Ithuba would not accept a five-month temporary licence due to profitability concerns. It also said that a nine-month transition period was needed to hand over to running of the lottery to the newly appointed operator, Sizekhaya Holdings.
However, on May 30, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the NLC’s application, ruling that the commission’s arguments were unconvincing.
In its response to the development, the department announced that it would appeal the May 21 ruling. Since the appeal will nullify the ruling pending the outcome of the process, it paved the way for the minister to extend Ithuba’s licence by 12 months.
Ithuba stated in a media release that it accepted the contract extension to serve the best interests of the South African public. The lottery company said: “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.
“Participants can rest assured that all games, draws and prize pay-outs will continue as normal, with the same exciting jackpots and seamless service that they are accustomed to.”
