Simon Nare
Simon Nare
Happy days are here again for lotto punters. As of today lotto players can buy their tickets from outlets under the new licence operators Gidani.
The sad news is that punters who bought advance tickets and tickets for multiple draws are not eligible for the first draw to take place next Saturday.
However, the National Lottery Board was quick to allay the fears of those punters.
Spokesman Sershan Naidoo said the punters will be paid as soon as the previous operator Uthingo transferred information to Gidani.
"The money is a trust fund and as soon as information is transferred it will reflect in the Gidani system and those people will be paid," he said.
But he said that information for tickets bought before April this year would not reflect on the Gidani system. If the information is not received before next Saturday, they would not be paid.
Naidoo said there is unclaimed money but it also cannot be paid out until the information is transferred.
"There is a lot of unclaimed money in amounts of R20 and R30 and one or two huge sums."
Uthingo, in a press conference, said that transferring information was a process that could take months.
Uthingo chairman Barney Pityana said the reason the information has not yet been transferred was because the announcement to award the licence was hasty.
The information will be transferred as soon as possible.
Pityana said that after careful consideration, Uthingo has decided not to legally challenge the awarding of the licence any further.
He added that for the sake of the public and for the lottery industry, Uthingo has decided to let the matter rest.
And the licence winners, Gidani, have announced an ambitious marketing campaign across the country.
The campaign kicks off at Shoprite in the Protea Gardens Shopping Mall in Soweto today.
Tickets prices for the four games being marketed by Gidani - Lotto, Lotto Plus, Wina Manje and Sportstake - remain unchanged.
Two hotlines have been established for players with queries. The players' help line is: 0800-777-777.
The retailers' help line is 0800-443-264.
E.tv has been retained as the media partner through which live lottery draws will be broadcast.
The draws are to take place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings with effect from next Saturday.
Uthingo will not stand in the way
Simon Nare
Simon Nare
Happy days are here again for lotto punters. As of today lotto players can buy their tickets from outlets under the new licence operators Gidani.
The sad news is that punters who bought advance tickets and tickets for multiple draws are not eligible for the first draw to take place next Saturday.
However, the National Lottery Board was quick to allay the fears of those punters.
Spokesman Sershan Naidoo said the punters will be paid as soon as the previous operator Uthingo transferred information to Gidani.
"The money is a trust fund and as soon as information is transferred it will reflect in the Gidani system and those people will be paid," he said.
But he said that information for tickets bought before April this year would not reflect on the Gidani system. If the information is not received before next Saturday, they would not be paid.
Naidoo said there is unclaimed money but it also cannot be paid out until the information is transferred.
"There is a lot of unclaimed money in amounts of R20 and R30 and one or two huge sums."
Uthingo, in a press conference, said that transferring information was a process that could take months.
Uthingo chairman Barney Pityana said the reason the information has not yet been transferred was because the announcement to award the licence was hasty.
The information will be transferred as soon as possible.
Pityana said that after careful consideration, Uthingo has decided not to legally challenge the awarding of the licence any further.
He added that for the sake of the public and for the lottery industry, Uthingo has decided to let the matter rest.
And the licence winners, Gidani, have announced an ambitious marketing campaign across the country.
The campaign kicks off at Shoprite in the Protea Gardens Shopping Mall in Soweto today.
Tickets prices for the four games being marketed by Gidani - Lotto, Lotto Plus, Wina Manje and Sportstake - remain unchanged.
Two hotlines have been established for players with queries. The players' help line is: 0800-777-777.
The retailers' help line is 0800-443-264.
E.tv has been retained as the media partner through which live lottery draws will be broadcast.
The draws are to take place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings with effect from next Saturday.
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