Sizekhaya to improve odds and reintroduce live draws as new lottery operator
To support its operations, the consortium has partnered with technology firm Genlot, which operates systems used in China’s national lottery.
South Africa.- Sizekhaya, South Africa’s incoming national lottery operator, has announced plans to improve the odds of winning under the new lottery format as it prepares to assume control of the country’s national lottery system in June.
The consortium, which was awarded the fourth National Lottery and Sports Pools licence, will take over operations for eight years beginning June 1.
In an interview with 702 radio host Clement Manyathela, Fundi Sithebe, Chief Operating Officer of Sizekhaya Holdings, said preparations for the transition to the new lottery operator are already underway ahead of the start date.
One of the key changes will focus on addressing what she described as “jackpot fatigue” where jackpots roll over for weeks without winners, creating large prize pools that players may see as difficult to win.
She said: “We go on for weeks, the jackpot gets bigger, but it just keeps on rolling over and rolling over. Some of the innovations put forward are cascading that jackpot so that we start to make it more meaningful, more frequently and players can start to feel that this is actually attainable.”
Sithebe added: “We’ve increased the odds and made sure that it’s a little bit more attainable than it was, and that’s the mechanism of the game design that we truly took time in putting together.”
The new operator also plans to reintroduce the live televised lottery draw, a feature previously removed from the broadcast schedule. Sithebe noted: “It was important for us to bring that back, just to show the transparency. Apart from the fact that it’s such a South African tradition, sitting around the TV watching.”
Sizekhaya is a consortium led by gaming company Goldrush, which holds a 50 per cent stake in the venture alongside several minority shareholders. Sithebe explained that the bid for the lottery licence began several years ago and involved assembling a broad shareholder base, including professionals from outside the gambling sector. She said: “When Goldrush was at the stage of putting this bid together, it was very important for them, apart from putting a compelling value proposition, to really put together the strongest team possible.”
To support its operations, the consortium has partnered with technology firm Genlot, which operates systems used in China’s national lottery. The company will provide backend infrastructure and systems for ticket sales and draws.
Accessibility will be expanded through new terminals and handheld devices designed for retail outlets with limited space, including stores in townships and rural areas. The operator also plans to add more banking applications that support lottery purchases and introduce QR code scanning to ease queues at retail locations.
Sizekhaya said the operational changes are intended to increase player engagement while maintaining transparency and accessibility as the new licence period begins.
