Announcement: National Lottery Licence

Gambling Authority CEO: Thuli Johnson
Gambling Authority CEO: Thuli Johnson

On the 4th of June 2020, the Gambling Authority (the Authority) announced Growmine Africa (Pty) Limited, trading as Dineo tsa Pula, as the Preferred Applicant, and Ithuba Solutions (Pty) Limited, trading as Ithuba Botswana, as the Reserve Applicant for the purpose of awarding a licence to operate the first ever Botswana National Lottery for a period of 10 years. A public notice to this eect was issued on the 10th of June 2020.

This selection was, as indicated then, subject to the successful negotiation and conclusion of a Licence Agreement between the Authority and the Preferred Applicant. The Authority further indicated that, should negotiations with the Preferred Applicant fail, the Authority would commence negotiations with the Reserve Applicant. The Authority commenced negotiations with Growmine on the 19th of January 2021.

The Board of the Authority wishes to inform the nation, that negotiations with Growmine were unsuccessful and consequently the status of Growmine as the Preferred Applicant has been revoked. The failure of the negotiations is as a result of Growmine’s failure to satisfy the Authority on a key, non-negotiable requirement as per the Request for Applications (RFA) for the licence to operate the National Lottery as well as a key undertaking made in their application and in presentations to the Evaluation Committee.

Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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