The South African National Lottery was established in 2000 and is the most popular form of gambling in South Africa by value and number of players. In the 2007 fiscal year transaction values totaled R3.972 billion, with an average of five million transactions per week.[1]
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After a marketing effort that aimed to reach 80 percent of South African homes directly[2] more than 800 000 tickets were sold in the first day of availability[3] Nearly R70 million worth of tickets were sold in the first three weeks of operation.[4]
In October 2002 operator Uthingo suggested a daily lottery to supplement the weekly draw. The concept, called Keno, was rejected by the trade and industry ministry in March 2003.[5] In November 2003 the Lotto Plus game was launched, acting as a supplementary weekly lottery available on the purchase of a primary lottery ticket, with an entry fee of R1.[6]
In July 2006 the Gidani consortium, featuring Greek company Intralot as a technical partner, was judged the preferred bidder to operate the lottery for seven years starting April 2007. The operating licence was awarded in October 2006.[7] In March 2007 the Pretoria High Court set aside that award on application by incumbent Uthingo, finding that the failure to adequately investigate the shareholders in some bidding consortia left room for conflicts of interest.[8]
Following the final draw by incumbent Uthingo, the lottery was indefinitely suspended in April 2007.[9]
In September the operating licence was awarded to Gidani again.[10] When ticket sales re-opened in October more than 200 000 tickets were sold within the first three hours.[11]
The South African National Lottery main draw is called Lotto 6/49 and as the name implies you must choose 6 out of a 49 possible numbers, to win the jackpot you must match all 6 numbers to the 6 numbers drawn in the main draw. Tickets for the South African National Lottery cost R3.50 and in addition to choosing your own numbers there is also a quickpick option where the lottery terminal choose the numbers for you. The Lottery also offers a Lotto Plus option where you can get a second chance to win for an additional cost. To play Lotto plus you need to mark off the Lotto plus option on your game card.[12]
In June 2003 it was reported that 27 percent of lottery players were unemployed [13] and that 43 percent of players earned less than R2,000 a month.[14] It was also reported that legalized gambling had created 50 673 jobs in 2000, although it may have redirected spendings from other industries.[15]
2006 research found that 82 percent of South Africans played the lottery once a week and that 53 percent of the population did not engage in any other form of gambling. The average player spent R81 per month on the lottery.[16]
Under the current operator 34 percent of revenue is paid to a central charitable distribution fund, up from an initial 28 percent.[17] Six percent of revenue is paid as retail commission, ten percent is retained as operational costs and 50 percent is paid in prizes.[18]
The now defunct homeland of Ciskei established a lottery in 1984.[19] It was abolished in the early 1990s.[20]
A lottery was established by decree in the former homeland of Transkei in 1989 and operated by Score-A-Lot.[21]
The Natal Lotto (also referred to as the KZN Lotto) was launched in the KwaZulu-Natal province in 1992.[22] During eight years of operation it raised R869 million and paid R345 million to charities and R448 million in prize money.[23]