Annie Mapoma
MILLIONS of South Africans have taken the chance of winning big money for the cost of two or three rands since organised lotteries began two years ago, generating more than R80-million for welfare trusts and even bigger profits for the lottery companies themselves.
The popularity of the lotteries has led to the launching of new games, increasing ordinary people’s chances of becoming rich in a day, but the industry is still largely dominated by the giant Games Africa, which runs three out of the four major lotteries: Ithuba, Viva and Zama-Zama.
The fourth, Laduma, established by the National Literacy Co-operation (NLC) in July and run through Standard Bank branches, may have been made illegal by recent gaming legislation. A fifth scheme is Bop Bonds, which sells interest-earning bonds on which cash prizes can be won.
Ithuba Games scratchcard lottery, which was established two years ago in support of the Ithuba Trust, sells the most tickets and gives the biggest prizes. It offers scratchcards which cost R2 and R3 respectively and there are a variety of ways buyers can win prizes with the cards.
Hopefuls can scratch for a R250 000 instant cash prize or try to get three-in-a-row of a number to win a cash prize. If the scratchcard doesn’t deliver, the ticketholder can send it to the TV1 game show Win `n Spin and get a chance to take part in the regular R1- million draws.
Fifty percent of the ticket price is paid out as prizes — the more tickets sold, the fatter the prizes.
Viva Draw Game was taken over by Games Africa last year and has since become the first high prize draw game based on international criteria. A draw ticket costs R2 but, unlike the Ithuba scratchcards, there is no instant cash prize.
The Viva draw takes place live on M-Net during open time every Friday and a cash prize of up to R500 000 can be won every week. Forty-five percent of the ticket price is paid out as prizes.
Extending the Viva Draw Game, the first daily draw game ever in South Africa called Zama-Zama has just been launched by Games Africa. It is based on a well- established and highly successful daily game run in Spain. Games Africa expects this game to grow and become part of South African culture. Zama-Zama’s draw takes place every night during prime time on CCV Television. As with the others, the ticket costs R2 and up to R25 000 is paid out as prizes.
An exclusive agreement with the Argus Group ensures the publication of the winning numbers in daily newspapers nationwide. In recognition of the development and reconstruction needs in South Africa, Viva Trust has recently decided to allocate 50 percent of funds raised through the lottery to RDP through the Kagiso Trust.
Laduma lottery is yet another game, launched two months ago by the NLC which aims to combat illiteracy and creat an estimated 50 000 jobs. Laduma is played in two ways; by buying one or more R2 tickets from a Laduma ticket seller, who makes a profit of 80 cents a ticket. A player can also buy a pack of 100 tickets from any branch of the Standard Ban#k for R120. In this case, the Laduma tickets cost R1,20 each. Here there is no 80 cents going to job creation.
Laduma guarantees a minimum jackpot of R500 000 for the ticket with the correct combination jackpot and lottery number. Since it was launched in July, approximately R850 000 has been raised for the NLC.
In another category of games played in South Africa is Bop Bonds. This is an investment by members of the public raised as a loan by the former government to fund development projects.
Here, holders of bond certificates can win monthly prizes through a draw, and earn a yearly five percent interest. Bond certificates are sold in denominations of R10, R20, R50, R100, R500 and R1 000. Prizes amounting to R125 000 are drawn every month.