Decision On New Lottery Operator Postponed By A Year. But Ithuba's Licence Expires In May

A statement circulated by email to Members of Parliament by Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau announcing the extension of the 'bid validity period' for the lottery and sports pools licence for a further year, until 31 May 2026, makes no mention of what will happen with ticket sales after Ithubas licence expires.

Worth around R180 billion over its usual five-year life, the operator licence has been referred to as 'a licence to print money.'

The latest postponement for a further 12 months has come as a surprise. This is the third time that an announcement of the next licence operator has been postponed. The first time was in July 2022, ten months before Ithubas licence was due to expire on 31 May 2023, when it was extended by two years by former minister Ebrahim Patel.

Responding to a written parliamentary question from BOSA leader Musi Maimane last year on the extension of the Ithuba contract by Patel for two years to 31 May 2025, Tau said he had used powers granted to him by the Lotteries Act to extend an incumbent operators licence 'for a non-renewable period not exceeding 24 months'.

Since only Ithuba has the infrastructure in place to continue selling tickets and run the lottery, it is unclear what will happen after Ithubas licence expires.