Next-generation RFP's designed to accelerate growth, progress, and innovation in the African Lottery & Sport Betting Market ByPhilippe Vlaemminck, Managing Partner pharumlegal; pharumlegal.eu he AFRICAN LOTTERY ASSOCIATION has, over recent years, re-structured to better serve its members and collaborate with other associations on initiatives to serve the lottery industry. New bylaws were adopted and a fullyfledged secretariat-general is now established at the premises of the MDJS in Casablanca. Congresses and seminars addressing various important regional and global issues are being held on a regular basis. An important issue has been to assess the ways lotteries throughout Africa are legally structured. Differences are enormous, some with outdated legislations and others requiring serious updates to address today's challenges. Mobile and internet gaming, licensing conditions and supervision are often unequally or inadequately regulated leading to problem gambling and lack of control over activities by certain private parties and illegal or fraudulent operators, using a.o. fake licenses. Africa needs to move forward, and certain countries are expected to or are already taking the lead. The South African (SA) National Lottery has from its launch in March 2000 taken a special position in the African lottery community. Very much built on the British 50 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 model, its foundation was established by the SA Lotteries Act. The national lottery license in the country is issued for a maximum period of eight years and the current license (the third license issued) expires on 31 May 2023. The licensing process is started with the issuing of a Request for Proposal (RFP) which were for the previous processes issued about two years before the expiry of the current license. The previous RFP processes have been well contested processes and were subjected to legal scrutiny by losing bidders. However, for unknown reasons, South Africa has not issued the RFP at the time ofwriting this article notwithstanding the end date of the current license on 31 May 2023. The international lottery community is waiting for the RFP to be launched soon and is prepared to put all its efforts in implementing innovative technologies in a timely manner during a new license. In South Africa the national lottery operator is obliged to pay a percentage of gross sales revenue to a distribution trust fund earmarked for worthy causes. It has been authoritatively stated that it is clear that the intention of the Lotteries Act is that the National Lottery should generate as much money as possible for distribution to those causes.
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