Court orders minister to consider lottery licence bids afresh

A Pretoria High Court ruling on Monday directed Minister Parks Tau to re-examine bids for the fourth lottery licence, previously awarded to Sizekhaya Holdings in May 2025. Judge Norman Davis ordered Tau to disregard a ministerial committee report that heavily influenced the original decision. The judge suspended the invalidity declaration for 12 months, giving Tau six months to decide whether to award the licence anew and another six months to negotiate a new agreement if he opts not to award it to Sizekhaya again.

Ithuba Lottery and Ringeta Consortium had challenged the original decision, alleging unfair advantages. The EFF challenged the constitutionality of specific Lotteries Act provisions regarding political office holders' financial interests in lottery bids. Davis scrutinized the Request for Proposals (RFP) process, highlighting a three-stage evaluation involving bid evaluation, adjudication, and ministerial decision-making after consultation with the National Lotteries Commission.

The minister, after consultation, expressed inability to award the licence, leading to a delay. An interim ministerial committee then re-assessed bids, recommending Sizekhaya as preferred and Ithuba as reserve. Despite this, Ithuba challenged the award in June 2025, alleging connections between Sizekhaya's members and Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

The court found that Tau was not entitled to create a new committee not specified in the RFP, as it ran parallel to the evaluation process. The judge ruled that Tau's decision was unlawful and procedurally unfair, compelling him to reconsider the bids afresh. Meanwhile, the EFF's application to expand the Act's scope to prevent financial interests of political office holders in lottery bids was dismissed, with the judge suggesting legislative reform.