SOUTH AFRICAN LOTTO SUSPENDED
6 April 2007
Licensing investigations not properly completed by
the Board, says judge
"Tata Ma Chance, Tata Ma Millions!" says the selling
line for the South African Lotto, which dishes out multi
million Rand prizes twice a week. However, this week it
appears that it was the National Lotteries Board that
took the chance...it did not properly complete
investigations into a new operator for the massive
organisation.
On Friday the lottery was temporarily suspended on the
directions of the government after a high court in
Pretoria ordered a review of the licensing process.
Bloombergs business news agency reports that in January,
Uthingo Management Pty, whose owners include Gtech
Holdings Corp. and Tattersall's Ltd., challenged the
award of the lottery operating license to Gidani Pty,
whose investors include Athens-based Intralot SA.
The Pretoria High Court on March 5 found the National
Lotteries Board didn't complete its investigations into
the operators.
"Uthingo's license expires at midnight and there is no
legal basis to extend it,'' said Trade & Industry
Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa in an e-mailed statement
Friday. "I will announce the appointment of a National
Lottery operator within a short period which I expect to
be about one month,'' he said.
South Africans spend more than 3 billion Rands ($379
million) a year on lottery tickets, one percent of which
the operator keeps as profit.
Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa
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