Legal Fight Over South Africa’s Lottery Licence Intensifies
Lekalinga (RF) Pty Ltd has taken legal action to challenge the decision to grant South Africa’s fourth National Lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings. The company questions the process and demands a full review in court.
Lekalinga Takes Issue with Licence Award
Lekalinga filed a court application at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The company, backed by Serbian and local partners, wants the court to review and overturn the decision. It also asked Minister Parks Tau to provide the full record explaining why he selected Sizekhaya.
Lekalinga claims Sizekhaya failed to meet several licence requirements. It also raised concerns about Sizekhaya’s alleged links to gaming group Goldrush. According to Lekalinga, these links could involve indirect financial interests from individuals who are not allowed to participate in the lottery.
Political Calls for Accountability
The Democratic Alliance asked the minister to appear before Parliament’s trade and industry committee. The party wants details on the selection process and the minister’s dealings with current operator Ithuba Holdings. It also criticised the lack of transparency.
Reports suggest thousands of lottery ticket machines are out of service. The problems followed a system switch and have disrupted operations. These failures raised more questions about the handover to the new licence holder.
Minister Tau defended the process and said he would cooperate with Parliament. At the same time, he filed an appeal against a court ruling that blocked his earlier decision to grant Ithuba a 12-month interim licence. Ithuba will continue to operate until the court resolves the appeal.
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