The COO raising Sizekhaya's flag in the gaming industry

Ido Lekota profiles Fundi Sithebe, the current Chief Operations Officer of Sizekhaya Holdings.

Fundi Sithebe, Chief Operations Of-ficer of Sizekhaya Holdings, is a prominent South African business leader whose career spans the avi-ation and gaming industries.

As the first Black CEO of a horse racing com-pany in South Africa, and potentially globally, Sithebe led 4Racing from 2021 to 2025, overseeing the revival of South African horse racing and sports pools follow-ing the collapse of Phumelela Gaming and Leisure.

Among her achievements was increasing the prize money for the prestigious Betway Summer Cup from R2.5-million to R6-million, making it Africa’s richest horse race. Through a strategic partnership with head-line sponsor Betway, she also repositioned the event as a premium entertainment experience. Initiatives such as ‘Silks in the City’ and ‘The Golden Summer’ attracted international talent, including jockey Oisin Murphy, and helped restore the event’s prestige and relevance.

Before joining 4Racing, Sithebe served as Chief Operations Officer of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) from 2017 to 2021, including a period as Acting CEO in 2019. She played an important role in major national initiatives, including serving as protocol lead during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and contributed to ACSA’s development as a commercially successful, customer-focused business.

Since May 2023, she has also served on the interim board of South African Airways. Her board experience extends across avi-ation, insurance and IT infrastructure.

Sithebe holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Wits Business School and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Midrand University.

Now overseeing operations at Sizekhaya Holdings following its assumption of the South African National Lottery licence in June, Sithebe is focused on strengthening public confidence, ensuring operational integrity and delivering meaningful social impact.

In a recent interview with Leadership magazine, she outlined how the new lottery operator intends to fulfil its public-interest mandate, including directing approximately 27% of ticket sales towards the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), which supports community sport, arts and development initiatives.

Restoring confidence in draw integrity and financial stewardship

Although the public is familiar with the Lotto brand, many players may not know which company operates it. For Sithebe, this makes accountability and transparency essential.

Sizekhaya recognises that it cannot distance itself from responsibility for the lottery’s op-erations. Instead, it must operate efficiently and responsibly while taking the public on a journey towards greater confidence in the system.

One of its first steps was to reinstate live televised draws, allowing players to watch the numbers being selected in real time. The move directly addresses concerns that draws are conducted secretly or manipulated.

The operator has also revised the mechanics of its games to improve players’ chances of winning.

PowerBall remains a double-matrix game in which players select five numbers from 50 and one from 16. Under the pre-vious operator, the format required five numbers from 50 and one from 20. The change improves the odds of winning the jackpot from one in 42 375 200 to one in 33 900 160, representing an improvement of approximately 25%.

For Lotto, Sizekhaya has reduced the main pool from 58 to 52 numbers in a six-number draw. This improves the odds of winning the jackpot from one in 40 475 358 to one in 20 358 520, almost doubling the probability of winning.

The operator has also redesigned its jackpot rules to prevent extended sequences of rollovers, which previously contributed to public suspicions that

accumulated jackpots benefited the operator.

Under the revised system, there must be a jackpot payout at the end of each month. If the jackpot remains unclaimed during the first three weeks, the final draw of the month allows the prize to cascade to a lower winning tier. Rather than requiring all six numbers, the jackpot is shared among qual-ifying players who match four numbers.

Oversight and verification of draw results and prize payments

Behind every televised draw is a carefully controlled verification process designed to protect its integrity.

Approximately two hours before the draw, the numbered balls, which are stored in a steel cage under CCTV surveillance, undergo calibration to confirm that they are uniform in size and weight. This ensures that no ball has a physical advantage over another.

The process takes place under the super-vision of Deloitte, Sizekhaya’s independent auditor, and includes checks to confirm that the draw machine is functioning correctly and that a backup machine is available should a technical failure occur.

Technology provides an additional layer of protection. Sizekhaya’s technology partner, Genlot, brings experience in lottery systems, including the Central Gaming System, Inde-pendent Verification System (IVS) and Random Number Generator (RNG).

Together, these systems provide multiple levels of verification intended to ensure that draws are conducted fairly, transparently and without manipulation.

By combining independent auditing with technological safeguards, Sizekhaya aims to strengthen public confidence in the integrity of each draw. The approach reflects the operator’s broader responsibility to manage the national lottery as a public institution in which commercial performance must be accompanied by ethical accountability.

Transparency and accountability

Sizekhaya has committed to a more trans-parent operating model, recognising that public confidence depends on both the

integrity of lottery draws and accountability for the funds generated.

However, much of the detailed reporting on grant allocations, administrative costs and operational revenue remains the responsibility of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and the NLDTF. These statutory bodies are required to publish annual reports and audited financial statements.

Sizekhaya views itself as the custodian of a national institution whose operations must remain open to public and regulatory scrutiny.

Its measures, including reinstating live televised draws, maintaining independently audited draw procedures and using verification systems, are intended to complement the statutory reporting obligations of the NLC and NLDTF.

The company also supports the NLDTF’s social mandate, under which revenue from ticket sales contributes to charities, sport, arts and community development projects.

This arrangement creates several layers of accountability, with Sizekhaya responsible for operational integrity and the relevant statutory bodies overseeing the allocation and reporting of funds.

For Sithebe, rebuilding public trust requires more than assurances. It demands visible safeguards, consistent reporting and a willingness to subject the lottery’s operations to independent scrutiny.

Promoting responsible gambling

Responsible gambling forms an important part of Sizekhaya’s operating model, with measures intended to protect vulnerable groups, including students, older people, low-income households and the unemployed.

These include strict enforcement of age restrictions on ticket sales and a prohibition on selling lottery tickets at venues where alcohol is served, aimed at reducing impulsive purchases.

The operator is also promoting annuity-based jackpot payouts to encourage winners to manage substantial prizes responsibly over time, rather than receiving their entire winnings as a single payment.

Alongside these measures, Sizekhaya is rolling out nationwide education campaigns to raise awareness of gambling-related harm. A dedicated helpline is also intended to connect players experiencing difficulties with professional counselling and support services.

For Sithebe, these initiatives reflect the principle that commercial growth should not come at the expense of player welfare.

By incorporating protective measures into everyday operations, Sizekhaya aims to establish a more socially responsible approach to managing the national lottery.

Balancing commercial growth with social responsibility

Sizekhaya’s approach to balancing commer-cial performance with its public-interest obligations centres on incorporating gambling-harm prevention into its gov-ernance framework.

The company has introduced key per-formance indicators (KPIs) covering player protection, community development and ethical compliance, alongside traditional fin-ancial measures such as ticket sales and jackpot management.

Board oversight committees, quarterly reporting to the NLC and the inclusion of gambling-related harm in the enterprise risk register are intended to ensure that these responsibilities receive sustained attention.

Social responsibility indicators include compliance with age restrictions, enforcement of restrictions on sales at venues serving alcohol, the promotion of annuity-based payouts and the reach of education campaigns and support services.

These measures are monitored alongside financial performance, with the intention of giving harm prevention the same level of attention as revenue growth.

For Sizekhaya, the objective is to demon-strate that commercial success and responsible gambling are not competing priorities, but complementary responsibilities within the management of a national institution.

Measuring progress over the next 12–24 months

Over the next 12–24 months, Sizekhaya in-tends to demonstrate measurable progress towards becoming a more socially respons-ible lottery operator.

Its commitments include publishing inde-pendent audits covering financial performance and social responsibility outcomes, alongside quarterly reporting to the NLC.

The operator also plans to monitor indicators of gambling-related harm, including trends in helpline usage, breaches of age restrictions and retail compliance violations.

By incorporating these indicators into its governance framework, Sizekhaya aims to ensure that player protection is monitored as rigorously as commercial performance.

Another priority is maintaining the flow of lottery revenue towards community devel-opment through the NLDTF, supporting education, sport, arts and welfare initiatives.

Operational targets include installing 5 500 lottery terminals, training 10 000 retail staff and expanding banking partnerships. These initiatives will be accompanied by greater engagement with communities and beneficiaries, including site visits and stake-holder consultations.

Together, these commitments are intended to improve operational perform-ance, strengthen accountability and demonstrate the lottery’s contribution to South African society.

For Sithebe, the challenge is to ensure that Sizekhaya delivers on both sides of its mandate: operating a commercially sustain-able national lottery while protecting players, rebuilding public trust and generating lasting benefits for communities.ac

Public trust must be earned through transparency, accountability and independent scrutiny.