LEBOGANG NDADANA | The true jackpot is dreams fulfilled and South Africa changed ― responsibly

In June this year, the company I am privileged to lead will become the fourth operator of the South African National Lottery. It will be an enormous responsibility to run what we consider to be a national treasure.

We have ambitious plans to make the lottery more accessible, more technology-driven and more lucrative than ever before ― in turn creating substantially more income than previously for our regulator, the National Lotteries Commission, to distribute to good causes through the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

The lottery, of course, belongs to our national government. Through the NLDTF, its proceeds support a wide range of vital activities all over South Africa, including the arts, sports and non-governmental sectors, the latter covering health, welfare and social causes. This support is given without placing further strain on our already stretched fiscus.

Many beneficiaries have come to rely on lottery funding not only to do their work, but frequently for their very survival. Allowing them to falter is simply not an option, but to keep them going ― and support more of them ― it is essential for the National Lottery to not just maintain the status quo, but to keep growing.

That ultimately means selling more lottery tickets, creating more games, even offering better odds. We have a lot in the works in this regard, such as selling lottery tickets at supermarket tills, new games, more convenient online options (for example, on an app or using QR codes to create tickets), an e-wallet that allows players to claim winnings without having to go to a shop, and more. These will all be rolled out in due course.

(As an aside, we also intend to increase the monetary allocation that goes to the NLDTF, which is now 25% of the lottery’s proceeds. The increased allocation will be made public soon.)

In essence, responsible play is about appealing to a player’s sense of what constitutes enough, much like drinking alcohol responsibly.

But this is where we also need to take special care that, in expanding and streamlining the National Lottery’s offerings, and holding out more promise of fulfilling players’ wildest dreams, we don’t inadvertently dash them.

Key to our plans for the National Lottery, therefore, is the concept of responsible play: how to get people to play the lottery and support the bigger picture ― educating children, stimulating creativity, promoting a healthier society and caring for people ― without causing them hardship in the process.

In essence, responsible play is about appealing to a player’s sense of what constitutes enough, much like drinking alcohol responsibly. There is no universal line in the sand, however, and “enough” ultimately depends on the individual. That said, we are especially cognisant of some of our more vulnerable audiences: for example, the elderly, students and low-income and unemployed people.

Encouraging responsible play entails several facets:

• Legal aspects, such as restricting the sale of lottery tickets to adults only
• Payout options such as annuities for jackpot winners instead of lump-sum payouts, ensuring that their winnings serve them better over a longer time period. This has worked well in other territories and is a model for us
• Moral imperatives, such as not selling tickets where alcohol is served and thus avoiding an enabling environment for irresponsible play
• Educating players on the dangers of spending too much on lottery tickets; educating communities and retailers to help them identify and report issues to a responsible play hotline (intervention will, of course, have to take into account privacy legislation)
• Mechanisms for responsible play, including prompting users during online play to prevent excessive use, blocking problem accounts and self-regulation features such as temporary account lock-outs
• Providing professional help for those who need it. We will have a dedicated lottery hotline, separate from the one serving the broader gaming industry

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to speak about the National Lottery without comparisons being made with South Africa’s broader gaming industry: casinos, sports betting and, in particular, online gambling.

Some may argue that there is no real distinction between them and the National Lottery, but that’s incorrect.

The lottery is a state-owned vehicle that supports important social causes, not a private, profit-making venture; this is an important distinction to make, as it speaks to who benefits from an entity’s activities ― the business, or society at large.

The government also makes a distinction between the two: the lottery is regulated completely separately from the gaming industry, with its own regulator and its own legal regime. Proceeds are not poured into provincial coffers, as with gaming industry taxes, but disbursed directly to social causes by way of the NLDTF.

But what we do have in common with private players in the sector is a duty of care to the people who avail themselves of our products. We see the sudden proliferation of online gambling in South Africa and the social destruction it’s wreaking, which has compelled the government to act, and we cannot allow that in the lottery space.

So as we develop and grow the National Lottery ― which we must do ― in the next few years, in the pursuit of fulfilling individual dreams and helping make our country a better place for everyone in it, responsible play will be at the centre of everything we do. You can bet on that.

Lebogang Ndadana is CEO of Sizekhaya Holdings