Sizekhaya Holdings, the company now running South Africa's National Lottery, has sold 39% fewer tickets than it forecast in its winning bid. The shortfall came out at a parliamentary hearing on 10 November, where trade minister Parks Tau told MPs he has not yet decided whether to appeal a court ruling that set aside his award of the licence to Sizekhaya.
Sizekhaya had told the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) it expected around R3.5 billion in ticket sales. NLC executive manager Tintswalo Nkuna told the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition that actual sales came in at R2.1 billion, 39% short of that bid figure, and 21.7% below the NLC's own revised 2026-27 forecast. Nkuna said some of the gap was expected, since players are often cautious about a new operator; Sizekhaya took over the lottery on 1 June 2026 from Ithuba Holdings, which had run it for 11 years.
Sizekhaya's award was never uncontested. The tender's evaluation committee had ranked a rival bidder, Ringeta Consortium, first with 73.92 points against Sizekhaya's 72.95, and an NLC board committee recommended Ringeta. Tau instead set up a ministerial committee to reassess the bids, and it recommended Sizekhaya. Two losing bidders, Ithuba and Ringeta, challenged that process in court.
Judge Norman Davis ruled that Tau's ministerial committee had run an unlawful, procedurally unfair "parallel process" that re-scored the bids outside the tender rules, noting that Tau's stated reasons often followed the committee's recommendations almost word for word. Davis accepted that Tau acted in good faith, saying the minister had wanted to weigh factors a written bid cannot easily show, such as Black Economic Empowerment compliance and whether the games were properly defined as lottery games. The licence agreement itself was declared invalid, and Tau now has to reconsider the award without the committee's report to rely on. Sizekhaya can keep running the lottery for up to a year while that plays out; Tau has six months to make a fresh decision, and a further six months to sign a new agreement.
Part of why this case has drawn attention beyond the lottery industry is a minority stake in Sizekhaya held by Bellamont Gaming, which is co-owned by the sister of Deputy President Paul Mashatile's wife. Opposition parties have questioned that link; Sizekhaya has rejected any suggestion that political influence shaped the award. NLC chair Tembinkosi Bonakele defended Tau's decision to seek further advice before acting, and said the NLC board is waiting on Tau's call on whether to appeal.
Also Read: Court Sets Aside Sizekhaya National Lottery Licence Award
Has Sizekhaya lost the National Lottery licence? Not yet. The court declared the licence agreement invalid and ordered Tau to reconsider the award, but Sizekhaya can keep operating the lottery for up to a year while that process runs.
Why were Sizekhaya's ticket sales below forecast? The NLC said actual sales of R2.1 billion were 39% below Sizekhaya's own bid forecast of R3.5 billion, partly because players are often cautious about a newly awarded operator.
Who else bid for the licence? Ithuba Holdings, the previous 11-year operator, and Ringeta Consortium, which the original evaluation committee had ranked ahead of Sizekhaya.
Source: iGaming Business, 13 November 2026.
This article is for information, not legal or tax advice. Sources last checked on 14 November 2026. Gambling is for adults only (18+).
