Botswana’s Gambling Authority (GA) has started negotiations with Grow Mine, the winning bidder identified to run the country’s first lottery licence. The negotiations will focus on the terms that will dictate the company’s contribution to the National Lottery Fund, which in turn is designed to benefit the broader economy.
In an interview, the Authority said the negotiations, which are expected to take three months, would cover the terms of the contract. However, it has been revealed that if no agreement is reached Grow Mine will forfeit the tender, which will then be awarded to the reserved bidder, Ithuba Botswana. Speaking to The Monitor, GA stated;
“Negotiations are ongoing and we wish to re-emphasise that Gambling Authority has not yet awarded any company the licence to operate the national lottery.
Grow Mine is the preferred bidder with whom we’re negotiating and the reserved bidder in case negotiations with the preferred bidder fail to close the issuance of the licence.”
Should the negotiations prove successful and Grow Mine is appointed, it will then run the Botswana National Lottery under a 10-year licence. In that time, it would be expected to pay an annual licence fee of just over $87, 000. The tender winner is also expected to pay an upfront fee of $873,000 to kickstart the lottery. Having been registered in 2016 under the trading name of Dineo tsa Pula, Grow Mine has the backing of several prominent business people such as Sefalana Group Managing Director, Chandrakant Chauhan.
The list of shareholders also includes Sefalana Holdings Company, which owns 80%; Colmar Enterprises (47%); Citizen Money Makers (26%); Idlehill (PTY) Ltd (20%); Carthlee Inventions (21%); and Mokgethi Magapa ( 6%).
A certain percentage of the Botswana national lottery proceeds is expected to be donated to the National Lottery Fund to benefit the creative industry, the youth and other sectors.
Where is the location of dineo tsa pula?