South African court orders lottery winner's name to be revealed by May 28

The Gauteng High Court has ruled that Minister Parks Tau acted unconstitutionally by delaying the announcement of the next National Lottery operator, according to GroundUp. The court ordered him to name the successful bidder by 28 May, ahead of the current licence's expiry on 31 May.

The case was brought by Wina Njalo, a bidder for the new licence, who claimed Tau was favouring current operator Ithuba Holdings by proposing a one-year temporary extension. Judge Sulet Potterill said such a licence would “inevitably” benefit Ithuba or its affiliate, Ithuba Lottery, which shares directors and infrastructure.

The court limited any temporary licence to five months, rejecting Tau’s plan for a one-year extension. It also set aside his request for proposals for the interim licence and his decision to extend the validity of bids for the main licence.

Judge Potterill criticised the minister for failing to provide adequate reasons for the delay, saying this violated constitutional principles of transparency. She found that the process unfairly favoured Ithuba, even if unintentionally.

To prevent disruption of lottery funding, the court suspended the invalidity of the temporary licence for five months only, giving time for a new operator to take over. Tau, the National Lotteries Commission, and Ithuba Lottery were ordered to pay Wina Njalo’s legal costs.