Ever since the Lotto stopped rolling on 1 April - don't you think April Fool's Day was an appropriate time? - about 8,200 retail outlets who used to sell Lotto tickets have been hoping and waiting for some sort of final decision as to which of the two contenders would get the nod. The taxman must also have been a bit eager for a final decision as Trevor's department gets a slice of the spending. What I wonder, however, is what impact, if any, the lack of a national lottery has had on retail spend? I don't know of anyone who has been putting their monthly Lotto spend into a piggybank in anticipation of the minister - after a raft of failed promises - finally gets around to announcing who is going to have the pleasure of taking R100 or so from us every week and giving us R7 change. So where has the money gone? Have savings grown? Don't think so. Has retail spend grown? The only retailers I know of who have seen an impact from no Lotto are the smaller businesses such as stationers and corner cafes - and they have seen their income slashed. Anyone have the answer? And, what's more, when is our minister going take a giant leap for all us hopefuls?


Rod Baker, Content Manager: Send your news to: retailnews@bizcommunity.com; or visit https://www.bizcommunity.com.