South Africa lottery sales 39% short of Sizekhaya’s bid

Rival bidders Ithuba & Ringeta won the court challenge that forced the licence back to minister Parks Tau.

The hit

A South African court has overturned trade minister Parks Tau’s award of the national lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings, & regulator the National Lotteries Commission says Sizekhaya’s ticket sales are well below its bid forecast. Tau told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry & Competition on 10 November he has yet to decide whether to appeal.

Why it matters

The ruling forces Tau to reconsider the licence award without the ministerial committee report that Judge Norman Davis found ran an unlawful parallel scoring process. Sizekhaya can keep operating the lottery for up to a year, so there is no immediate disruption for ticket buyers. The ruling does not stop Sizekhaya winning the licence again.

The record

Sizekhaya actual ticket sales	R2.1bn (National Lotteries Commission)
Shortfall against Sizekhaya’s own bid forecast	39% below R3.5bn forecast (NLC)
Shortfall against revised 2026-27 forecast	21.7% below (NLC)
Evaluation committee scoring	Ringeta 73.92 points vs Sizekhaya 72.95 (tender evaluation committee)
Sizekhaya takeover date	1 June 2026, replacing Ithuba after 11 years
Court ruling date	2 November 2026, licence agreement declared invalid

What happens next

Tau has six months from the ruling to make a fresh licence decision, & a further six months to sign a new agreement &, if needed, arrange a handover. NLC chair Tembinkosi Bonakele says the board is waiting on his appeal decision.

Sources: Sizekhaya lottery sales miss forecast as Tau weighs appeal

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