Ithuba favoured as third national lottery operator

Friday, October 24, 2014

Pretoria - Ithuba Holdings has been chosen as the third national lottery licence operator, with current operator Gidani having been chosen as the reserve applicant, said the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).

Minister Rob Davies announced on Thursday that Gidani has been selected as the reserve applicant should negotiations with Ithuba experience hiccups.

“Negotiations will now commence with Ithuba to conclude a licence agreement to operate the lottery. It is envisaged that the negotiations will be finalised during the course of November 2014.  The licence agreement will provide for Ithuba to commence operating the lottery on 1 June 2015,” said the dti.

Should negotiations with Ithuba be unsuccessful, the Minister will commence negotiations with reserve applicant Gidani for the third National Lottery Licence.

The announcement comes after a rigorous bid evaluation process that commenced with the issue of the Request for Proposals on 11 June 2013.  The National Lotteries Board conducted the bid evaluation and adjudication process. 

Minister Davies’s decision was made after consultation with the board.

Four applicants submitted applications to the National Lotteries Board by the closing date of 30 November 2013, including Mzansi Games (Pty) Ltd and Grand Lottery (Pty). They have subsequently been informed that their applications were unsuccessful. - SAnews.gov.za