The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has set aside the awarding of the Fourth National Lottery and Sports Pools licence to Sizekhaya Holdings, finding that Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau illegally introduced a separate ministerial committee to reassess bids outside the prescribed tender process.
In a judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Norman Davis ruled that the committee’s appointment, which conducted a parallel evaluation of bids, was not provided for in the original request for proposals.
“The licence agreement concluded between the Minister, the National Lotteries Commission and Sizekhaya pursuant to the award of the licence is declared invalid,” the judgment said.
The court also declared the licence agreement between Tau, the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and Sizekhaya invalid, referring the matter back to the minister to reconsider the award without relying on the committee’s report and recommendations.
“In taking the decision to award the licence afresh, the minister is directed to disregard the report of the ministerial committee and the recommendations made by it,” the judgment said.
The ruling follows review applications by unsuccessful bidders Ithuba Lottery and Ringeta Consortium, which challenged the legality and procedural fairness of the process that resulted in Sizekhaya being awarded the eight-year licence in May 2025.
The court, however, made no adverse findings against Sizekhaya, its shareholders or the quality of its bid, noting that Tau had acted in good faith.
The company expressed disappointment with the judgment but said operations would continue as normal, with tickets remaining on sale, draws taking place as scheduled and prize payments continuing.
Sizekhaya also reassured retailers, beneficiaries and the public that the ruling would not affect funding for good causes through the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
The court suspended its declaration of invalidity for two consecutive six-month periods to prevent disruption to National Lottery operations.
The first six months gives Tau time to reconsider the licence award and make a fresh decision. If he decides not to award the licence to Sizekhaya, the next six months will allow negotiations with a new operator, the conclusion of a licence agreement and the implementation of transitional arrangements.
Sizekhaya took over the National Lottery on 1 June 2026, replacing Ithuba, which had operated the lottery since 2015.
Ithuba and Ringeta welcomed the judgment after challenging the fairness and transparency of the licensing process.
The Economic Freedom Fighters, which intervened to challenge provisions of the Lotteries Act, welcomed the court judgment and called for the legal appointment of the award.
“The EFF now calls for a transparent and lawful process in which the minister must reconsider the appointment without political interference,” it said in a statement. “No politically connected individuals or entities must be favoured or considered based on their proximity to those in power.”
The court ordered Sizekhaya, Tau and the NLC to pay the legal costs that Ithuba and Ringeta incurred.