Project: Gaming the Lottery

Inactive and non-compliant non-profit organisations (NPOs) are raking in millions in Lottery grants, while applications from some long-established, cash-strapped organisations are being declined, or they receive a fraction of what they had asked for.

Cuts affect services to poor communities

Sascoc is biggest recipient since 2002

Sascoc depends on Lotto for its existence

A school in a remote town in South Africa owned by a chicken farmer with a checkered business history was chosen by that country’s national lottery to handle almost US$ 3.7 million in grant money intended to help poor or under-served communities. Anomalies in the records of the national lottery make it difficult to tell […]

Lotto millions take winding, murky route to beneficiaries

Where does the Lotto money eventually end up? We followed the trail of one local beneficiary mentioned and was rather surprised with the outcome. What we uncovered was a tale that included a music festival, dietary training workshops and a system where the real beneficiaries are not always mentioned. We also found a system that is as transparent as a toilet window.

The strange tale of the Lotto funding in the Vhembe district has taken a new turn. Last month we reported on payments totalling R9.84 million made to a local non-profit organisation (NPO), Vhembe Health & Fitness Centre. The NPO was unable to supply details of how most of the money was utilized.

Purchasing a lottery ticket is, for millions of people worldwide, a part of daily life.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has received more money than any other organisation since the SA Lottery was launched in 2002. Out of a total of R5.6-billion allocated under the Sports and Recreation category, about R2-billion of this went to SASCOC and its affiliates.