After a six-month hiatus, the South African National Lottery is up and running with Intralot subsidiary and black power consortium Gidani at the helm.
Last year, the license was awarded to Gidani but in March the Pretoria High Court overruled the Ministry of Trade and Industry's decision after finding that the National Lotteries Board had not exhaustively investigated the shareholding structures of Gidani and former National Lottery operator Uthingo.
According to South African media reports, Uthingo and Gidani, by allegedly allowing political office-bearers to hold financial interest in them, did not satisfy a provision in the country's Lotteries Act that expressly prohibits National Lottery bidders from doing so.
Gidani interim Chief Executive Bongai Khumalo was dismissive of the allegations after being awarded the seven-year contract for a second time.
"We never had political office bearers in Gidani and we do not have political bearers," Khumalo said. "We came up once again as winners and believe we deserved to win, and that our success is beyond question and justified."
Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mphalwa, meanwhile, has appealed to the losing bidders (which include Igwija and Nik' Abantu) to accept the outcome of his decision "in the interests of the institution of the national lottery."
"I believe we have gone beyond the call of duty and ensured that we conducted the process with rigor, fairness and integrity," Mphalwa said.
Mphalwa conceded however that the possibility of another court challenge loomed large.
"The prospect is there, but I hope it doesn't happen," he said.
Mphalwa, who said in May that the lottery would "soon be running again," did not specify the date on which the lottery would be reintroduced. "We are currently processing the responses we have received from the National Lottery Board," he said.
Khumalo, though, said that he hoped to launch "in two weeks' time."