ITHUBA was the first National Lottery operator to introduce a National Lottery Mobile App in South Africa with a fully integrated player experience. Players can log in with their National Lottery pin number via multiple platforms such as the website, mobi-web, and mobile App as well as the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). The USSD service allows players to purchase National Lottery tickets on their mobile phones and is a cost-effective platform that uses airtime instead of data.
ITHUBA has on boarded several banking partners throughout the license period. The most recent are Capitec, TymeBank, and African Bank in 2022. ITHUBA is one of the few, if not the only National Lottery Operators to enter into a partnership of this kind in the world. This partnership allows players to purchase National Lottery tickets on their banking Apps while conducting other banking transactions.
ITHUBA’s CEO, Charmaine Mabuza believes that it is initiatives such as these that set ITHUBA apart from the rest of the other National Lottery operators, therefore, it is unique services such as these that are required to succeed in the gaming world.
“To ensure success and growth as an organisation, we need to have an active ongoing dialogue between tech experts, business experts, and industry stakeholders. That is the difference between simply surviving in the industry compared to breaking into new gaming territory,” says Charmaine Mabuza – CEO of ITHUBA. “The partnership with the banks also contributes to how we have increased the digital accessibility of our games with our players,” adds Mabuza.
One of the other major innovations that we are especially proud of is the computer-based method draw shows with the use of a Random Number Generator. This allowed ITHUBA to continue to run operations uninterrupted during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
In South Africa, as in many countries, ITHUBA caters to a wide range of players, therefore games are conveniently accessible to different market segments. There has been a significant shift in unbanked South Africans, which increased from approximately 54% in 20122 to over 80% of all Adult South Africans now having a bank account as claimed by the World Bank in 2022. This is evident in our sales contributions with digital now contributing to over 49% of total National Lottery sales.
About ITHUBA
ITHUBA Holdings Proprietary "(RF) is the official operator of the National Lottery in South Africa. Since taking over the operation of the national lottery in 2015, ITHUBA has been living up to its objective to reinvigorate the National Lottery by optimizing the consumer experience, restoring faith and trust in it, and showcasing its positive social contribution to society. ITHUBA, proudly rooted in South Africa, is intent on contributing positively and actively to socio-economic development by producing as many millionaires as possible and uplifting communities through various initiatives.
ITHUBA is determined to uphold the ethical and efficient operation of the National Lottery, setting the benchmark for Lottery operations in South Africa and beyond.
- For more information visit us at nationallottery.co.za
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https://www.world-lotteries.org/insights/news/member-news/ithuba-caters-to-different-market-segments-through-innovation-and-digital-gaming