MAVUSO MSIMANG: Parks Tau must do all he can to protect National Lottery

I recently read a report in the Sowetan in which Judge Sulet Potterill raised a really important question: How was the court supposed to know whether trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau made the right call in delaying the announcement of the fourth National Lottery operator if he hadn’t actually explained his reasons?

According to the article, the judge, who has since ruled against Tau's request for a delay, asked, “Under what circumstances? Has he ever told this court why it's such a difficult decision? Because if he had, maybe I could understand and say, OK, given those circumstances, it makes sense. But you're telling me it’s a tough call, and I don’t even know what those circumstances are.”

The minister’s delay was made public in a media statement on December 21 2024. But really, it wasn’t even a decision. It was him saying he wasn’t ready to make one. He basically said that if he made the decision then, it wouldn't be a fully considered one. After a six-month-long, in-depth RFP process, it seems he felt there were still issues needing more evaluation. Since then, he’s given out a temporary 12-month licence and extended the current RFP’s validity for another year, both also overruled by the judge.

In short, he said he needed another year to make a decision on what a two-year tender process delivered. The length of this delay understandably raised eyebrows. From what came out in court, Tau had already received reports from evaluation teams and the National Lotteries Commission back in October 2024. Despite all the work done since the eight proposals were submitted in February 2024, and even after asking for more evaluations, he still hadn’t been able to make a final call, six months later.

So why do I care? Well, I’ve had a strong interest in the National Lottery ever since I served as the chair of the board for Gidani, the second National Lottery operator. That role gave me first-hand experience of both the complexities of the lottery tender process and the bigger picture — how the lottery affects society and the economy.

Since its launch in March 2000, the National Lottery has become part of everyday life in SA. It's not just a game — it’s a source of hope for many, especially people dealing with tough financial realities. Even though the odds of winning are slim, the possibility of a big win gives people something to look forward to — a chance, however small, at a better life.

That hope has become deeply rooted in our culture, particularly for lower-income communities, where the lottery sometimes feels like one of the few opportunities to break out of poverty. Second, the National Lottery has also created real opportunities for social upliftment and giving back.

It has helped fund programmes in areas like education, healthcare, sports development, environmental protection, NGOs, and community projects. And it was designed to do all this while offering a legal, regulated alternative to illegal gambling: helping cut down on the risks of fraud and exploitation that come with unregulated betting.

What’s more, the lottery has become something uniquely South African. It cuts across race, class, and income — reaching just about everyone. In a country still struggling with deep inequality and poverty, the lottery gives people a way, even if only in their imagination, to dream of a better future. That’s something powerful. And I’m genuinely proud to have been part of it for over seven years.

But of course, it’s not all positive. The lottery, like all forms of gambling, comes with its own set of problems. Sure, it’s legal and regulated, but it can still take advantage of people — especially those in low-income communities. Some people spend money they really can’t afford, chasing a jackpot that may never come. That raises tough ethical questions about whether it's right for a government-backed institution to benefit from people’s hopes, or their desperation.

I’ve seen first-hand how the lottery is part of a much broader conversation about gambling, addiction, and what’s right or wrong when it comes to state involvement in these kinds of things. On one hand, it helps fund good causes. On the other, it risks feeding a culture where people pin their hopes on luck instead of real opportunity or hard work.

That’s the moral tension we have to reckon with. And that’s why how the lottery is managed really matters. It says a lot about how much trust the public can place in it. At the end of the day, the role the lottery plays in SA’s moral landscape depends on the trust we have in the institutions that run it.

And this is exactly what concerns me and why I felt compelled to write this piece. Is it really enough, as the minister’s legal team told the court, to say that yes, it’s hard for the judge to understand what makes his decision so difficult but she should just accept that the minister is “stuck between a rock and a hard place”? Apparently, he’s stuck because if he shares confidential information with the applicants and it turns out his concerns weren’t valid, it could mess up the whole tender process. But seriously, if his concerns are unfounded? After six months, all the proposals, evaluations, and extra checks, and he’s still not sure if his reasons for holding back are valid? That’s tough to accept, and honestly, it’s not doing the National Lottery any favours.

He’s bringing even more uncertainty into a system that has already been through a rough patch over the past decade. We’ve all heard the stories, mismanagement, corruption, dodgy dealings around how lottery funds are handed out. There’ve been scandals involving officials and the misuse of money meant for good causes. And the worst part? Hardly anyone’s ever been held accountable.

All of this is happening while the current lottery operator seems to be doing exceedingly well, maybe too well. A report by Africa Intelligence in July 2022 said that the “Mabuzas invest lottery profits in a $10m jet”. City Press also reported on the “high-flying Ithuba couple” sealing the deal on that same luxury aircraft — an Embraer Phenom 300E, no less. That’s a serious jet — worth about $10m, with yearly operating costs of over $1.5m. It really makes you stop and ask: just how much profit is being made here? And what does that mean for the money that’s supposed to be going to good causes?

Back when I was at Gidani, I can confidently say none of our shareholders could have even imagined buying something like that, let alone covering the costs of running it. All of this just fuels the public’s growing doubt about whether the lottery income is optimally judiciously managed and optimally distributed in the country’s best interests.

At first, thinking back to my own experience with the lottery tender process and all the legal battles that came with it, I actually felt a bit of sympathy for Tau, the National Lotteries Commission, and the DTIC. There was a lot of media buzz and plenty of claims about political interference after the fourth licence proposals were submitted. But seeing the efforts to root out corruption and fraud in the lottery space made me think — maybe all this noise was just coming from people trying to block the process from being done properly. It gave me some hope.

But things changed when the media started reporting in August 2024 that there might be a delay or even a suspension of the lottery. That’s when the alarm bells started ringing for me. And now the responses in court in Pretoria.

What’s actually going on? Has the minister found something serious, like possible rigging or more corruption and he’s trying to stop it? I really hope so. If that’s the reason for the delay, then good on him. But if not, and this is just another mess, it’ll be yet another sad chapter for the National Lottery and for the country.

I genuinely urge Tau to do everything he can to protect this institution. The National Lottery has played a big role in SA, and it deserves to be managed properly — with fairness, transparency, and in a way that truly benefits the public.

• Msimang is a former ANC NEC member and executive director of SA Tourism, and is a founder of the African Parks Network and member of the World Wildlife Fund SA board.