Ithuba Holdings continues to operate as the temporary national lottery and sports pool operator in South Africa following a last-minute intervention by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, who granted Ithuba a 12-month temporary licence until May 2026. This decision enables the continued operation of the lottery during the transition to a new operator, Sizekhaya Holdings, after a court judgment raised questions about the previous tender process and short-term licensing arrangements[1][3].
Sizekhaya Holdings is set to take over as the national lottery operator in June 2026. As part of its bid, Sizekhaya committed to handing over its lottery intellectual property to the South African government at the end of its tenure, paving the way for potential government-run operations in the future[1].
Ithuba, which previously held an eight-year licence extended by two years due to COVID-19 and delays in the new tender process, executed a seamless migration to a new core technology platform on 1 June 2025. The migration, completed overnight with zero downtime, ensured uninterrupted service for millions of lottery players across online, retail, and banking channels. This transition, noted as one of the fastest and smoothest in global lottery history, was supported by the South African ICT firm Paytronix[7].
The National Lottery, under Ithuba, remains Africa’s top-performing lottery. In the fiscal year 2024, Ithuba posted record-breaking sales of R7.28 billion and contributed R1.83 billion to the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), with cumulative donations toward good causes exceeding R13.5 billion over nine years. Their strategy includes offering large, guaranteed jackpots and seamless access through banking and mobile channels to widen reach and boost engagement[5].
Recent game draws continue under Ithuba’s leadership. Latest results for PowerBall and PowerBall Plus (drawn 5 August 2025) and Lotto and Lotto Plus (drawn 2 August 2025) illustrate ongoing national engagement and routine operations[2][6][8].
References
- [1] Minister appoints Ithuba Holdings to run national lottery for 12 months
- [2] PowerBall and PowerBall Plus Results | 05 August 2025 – eNCA
- [3] South Africa issues interim lottery license to Ithuba
- [5] Learn how ITHUBA is setting new standards for lotteries across Africa
- [6] Lotto and Lotto Plus results: Saturday, 2 August 2025 | The Citizen
- [7] ITHUBA executes seamless National Lottery system migration in …
- [8] SA Lotto Results Archive: 2025 – National Lottery