Cape Town – South African billionaire Sandile Zungu’s business consortium, Sizekhaya Holdings, has suffered a major setback after the Pretoria High Court overturned its award of the country’s National Lottery and Sports Pools licence, valued at approximately R180 billion over eight years.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, 2 November, sets aside Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau’s decision to award the lucrative contract to Sizekhaya in May 2025, as well as the licensing agreement between the minister, the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and the consortium.
According to Billionaires.Africa, the court found that Tau had relied on a ministerial committee to reassess the competing bids, despite the additional evaluation process not being provided for in the original tender documents.
The court canceled the new lottery licence awarded to Sizekhaya.
The previous operator Ithuba (and Ringeta) challenged it and won.
But the Lottery will keep running like normal for the next 12 months. https://t.co/qhxnN91ExJ
— Lottery & Powerball South Africa 🇿🇦 (@LottoPowerbal) November 3, 2026
The Citizen reported that the committee effectively conducted a “parallel process” to evaluate the bids, raising concerns about the fairness and transparency of the procurement process.
Disapponted
The legal challenge was brought by Ithuba Lottery, which operated the National Lottery from 2015 until Sizekhaya took over in June 2026, and the Ringeta Consortium, both of which contested the legality of the award.
The court has referred the matter back to Tau, instructing him to reconsider the appointment without relying on the ministerial committee’s report and recommendations.
However, the ruling does not mean an immediate end to Sizekhaya’s operations. The court suspended its declaration of invalidity for 12 months to allow the minister to reconsider the award and, if necessary, arrange a transition to another operator.
EWN reported that Sizekhaya has reassured the public that operations will continue uninterrupted, with tickets remaining on sale, draws proceeding and winners receiving their prizes.
The company said it was disappointed with the judgment but maintained that the court had made no adverse findings against it.
Lucrative government contracts
Ithuba welcomed the ruling, saying: “The judgment vindicates ITHUBA’s stance that the appointment of the South African National Lottery operator must be guided by the principles of fairness, transparency and accountability and must comply with the applicable legal and regulatory framework.”
Meanwhile, a regulatory announcement by JSE-listed Goldrush Holdings, which has an indirect stake in Sizekhaya, confirmed that the ruling was based on procedural grounds. It also stressed that the court had made no adverse findings against Sizekhaya, its shareholders, management or the quality of its bid.
The announcement, published through Sharenet’s SENS platform, confirmed that Sizekhaya remains eligible to receive the licence following the minister’s reconsideration.
The latest judgment reopens the battle for one of South Africa’s most lucrative government contracts, leaving Zungu’s consortium facing an uncertain future as the minister reviews the controversial award.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
