Court dismisses Gidani's application for condonation in national lottery case

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Danette Breitenbach

South Africa's official national lottery operator Ithuba has welcomed Judge Neil Tuchten's decision to dismiss Gidani's application for condonation with the late filing of an application for leave to appeal. This matter relates to an ongoing legal challenge from the former lottery operator, Gidani.

Gidani acted in pursuit of its own commercial interests by delaying the filing of its application for leave to appeal. It delayed the application for leave to appeal in the hope that it would obtain a strategic advantage should Ithuba not finalise a new licence with the Minister of Trade & Industry and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).

This followed an earlier judgement on 8 July 2015 where the court had referred the Ithuba licence back to the Minister. The Minister and the NLC were given one month to renegotiate the terms of the license agreement, which was concluded and signed with Ithuba on 7 August 2015.

Commenting on the court judgement Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza said, "We welcome the ruling as it correctly places the public interest ahead of narrow commercial interests. We were always confident we followed the right process. While it is not unusual for a losing bidder to appeal to the law courts, we will continue to vigorously oppose any future court challenge, as required.

"Ithuba not only has a valid licence, as the official national lottery operator from the Minister of Trade & Industry and the NLC, but we also have the financial, technical and operational muscle to reinvigorate the lottery We remain confident that our endeavours will support government's goal to maximise returns for good causes."