With 20 years of better regulation of the lotteries and sports pools industry, the NLC continues to be a catalyst in changing the lives of millions of South Africans and an economic contributor in various sectors of our economy.

The NLC not only ensured that our stakeholders were protected from unscrupulous operators of prohibited lotteries through the shutting down of these illegal operations, but through various stakeholder engagements, encouraged organisations to register society lotteries which resulted in an unprecedented 156% increase in revenue from fundraising activities by organisations registered as society lotteries, yielding revenue of R52 million. Monitoring of the National Lottery remains the focal point of our regulatory work and has produced 78 jackpot millionaires. During the period under review, the NLC’s regulatory dimensions resulted in a record breaking 598 million tickets sold and 1.98 billion draw entries, affirming the public’s confidence that the National Lottery is conducted transparently, fairly and with due proprietary.

The NLC managed, notwithstanding tough economic conditions and excessive demand on the fund, to fund worthy causes to the tune of R1.310 billion. Our Pro-Active Funding model detailed here in this report ensured that the NLC fund was accessible to communities who would have otherwise not participated and benefited from NLC funding, and touched on areas of food security and water preservation while restoring human dignity to thousands of our children through the sanitation project.

The NLC Board recognises that it provides oversight to an integral asset of society and has adopted a stakeholder-inclusive approach in the execution of its corporate governance and advisory role on the efficacy of the Lotteries Act, as amended. To this end, the Commission has reviewed the legislation and will, in the ensuing year, commence engagement with the Executive Authority and Policy makers to advice on legislative review of the Lotteries Act in order to promote an enabling, innovative and agile lotteries and sport pools industry.

We were excited by the opening of our provincial office accommodation, which is not only expected to derive savings, but demonstrates our commitment to be a permanent feature in our provinces and remain accessible to all communities.

The Board engaged with a vast number of material stakeholders, ranging from the Parliamentary structures, beneficiaries and participants in the industry in order to understand their interests and expectations and respond appropriately. The Board responded promptly to legitimate concerns emanating from the media.

The period under review has seen the Auditor-General of South Africa express an unqualified opinion on the NLC group, a testament to solid corporate governance practices and strong internal controls.

I wish to thank the executive management and staff of the National Lotteries Commission, led by Commissioner Ms Thabang Mampane, for striving for performance excellence and achieving 100% performance for a consecutive five years, the outgoing Minister and the dti for the consistent support given throughout the period under review and his tenure, and the NLC Board for steering the NLC towards becoming a beacon of corporate governance excellence. The Board, in the interests and expectations of our material stakeholders, congratulates Minister Ebrahim Patel and looks forward to working with him and his team for a sustainable NLC. The NLC Board assures the Minister of its commitment to clean corporate governance and affirms that the Commission will continue to perform its functions efficiently and effectively in compliance with this Act, any other applicable law and corporate governance best practice.