Lotto carries on after court rules process faulty

THE Government issued an assurance late yesterday that there would be no disruptions to the operation of the national lottery despite a court having set aside the licence awarded to Ithuba to operate the popular draw worth millions.

The Department of Trade and Industry was reacting after a judgment in the High Court in Pretoria which set aside the li- cence as terms relating to the guarantee and performance bond were found to be invalid.

Judge Neil Tuchten suspended the effects of this decision for a month.

The court had not found fault with the choice of Ithuba‚ the department said.

Ithuba took over the running of the lottery on June 1 after a process was conducted by the National Lotteries Board and Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies to select the third operator to hold the licence to operate the national lottery.

In November last year‚ Gidani‚ whose contract expired on May 31‚ took the minister’s decision to award the licence to Ithuba on judicial review.

Davies welcomed the fact that Tuchten had upheld his decision to appoint Ithuba as the preferred applicant‚ on the basis that the minister’s decision was both rational and rea- sonable. The department said Davies “is confident he will resolve the issues . . . within this one-month period and would like to assure the public there will be no disruptions to the operation”.

This is not the first time the lottery has been mired in a legal wrangle. Previously‚ the lottery was suspended for six months.

Gidani said the way forward would now depend on Davies.