The matter was the subject of investigations by the Gauteng Gambling Board and the National Lotteries Commission.
A Johannesburg man is still fuming three years after selecting the right Lotto numbers, but never receiving the life-changing jackpot.
Thabiso Bannister’s bet was allegedly never placed due to a technical issue with the National Lottery and World Sports Betting after he claimed to have won R17 million.
The disputed ticket
Bannister told The Citizen that he placed his R50 bet on 2 March 2022.
When he checked the results early the next morning, he discovered his six numbers had all matched the winning combination.
However, when he tried to access his ticket through World Sports Betting’s (WSB’s) lottery tab, it wasn’t there.
The missing ticket caused panic and confusion.
“When my ticket wasn’t there, I didn’t know if it was a fake thing or like what the [issue with] the purchase is. So obviously there was panic,” he said.
He said he waited until later that morning to make enquiries with the WSB. He also alleges that he was assisted by the entities’ workers, who confirmed that a ticket was placed.
This would later be disputed by the betting service, which claimed that no ticket was ever placed.
ALSO READ: Check your Lotto ticket! R41 million has been won
System error?
The matter was the subject of investigations by the Gauteng Gambling Board and the National Lotteries Commission.
According to the Gauteng Gambling Board’s findings, seen by The Citizen, the dispute centres on a communication failure between World Sports Betting and Ithuba’s central lottery system.
“It has been confirmed that your intended wager on the National Lottery on 2 March 2022 was not placed as the ticket failed to register on Ithuba’s server,” the Gauteng Gambling Board said in correspondence to Bannister.
It attributed the failure to a timeout issue affecting Ithuba’s server communication.
However, Ithuba told The Citizen that there had been no error or timeout in their systems during the stipulated times.
The Gauteng Gambling Board has been contacted for clarity on its findings, but a response had not been received by the time of publishing. Any update will be included once received.
ALSO READ: A new start for R10 million Lotto winner: Here’s where she bought her ticket from
‘No record of a ticket’
The lottery body, speaking on behalf of itself and World Sports Betting, maintained its position that no valid ticket exists.
“Following a joint review by Ithuba and World Sports Betting (WSB), there is no record of a successfully purchased lottery ticket by the participant during the period in question on 2 March 2022,” Ithuba told The Citizen.
The lottery operators insist their systems were functioning normally during the disputed timeframe.
“System logs from Ithuba’s central lottery system (via IGT) and WSB show other wagers were successfully recorded at that time, confirming normal operation. No timeout or server-side error was detected on Ithuba’s infrastructure in the stated window.”
Furthermore, Ithuba emphasised that only properly registered tickets qualify for prizes under National Lottery rules.
“As no such record exists in this case, no prize is due,” Ithuba said.
Was a ticket lodged?
The Gauteng Gambling Board also found that: “The client is issued with a successful reference number on receipt and further, WSB maintains a list of transactions for approved tickets, which never were provided due to the ticket not being issued. We can confirm that the customer would not have received this, nor would he have been able to review his transactions under the bet history.”
WSB’s terms and conditions state that an online bet is not valid until the wager coupon confirms your bet has been successfully placed.
“If you are unsure about the validity of a wager, please check your transactions in your statement, or contact us,” it says.
The Citizen has seen a transaction log purported to have been sent to Bannister by WSB showing a transaction of R50 to Ithuba on the date in question.
He said that he also tried to contact them multiple times.
“They wouldn’t speak to me. There were no responses. [I would even] go to their offices, trying to get a result for them, until they even decided to basically bluetick me,” he said.
Evidence in dispute
Bannister claims he has substantial evidence supporting his case, including transaction records, email correspondence and screenshots showing the payment deduction and reference number.
He said that this should be proof enough that the payment was successful.
“I have those screenshots, I have those emails that show that the pay-per-fee was successful.”
The frustrated player said he also conducted a follow-up test in May 2022, placing another R50 bet using the same process to demonstrate the correlation between successful and failed transactions.
He said the May bet was placed successfully.
Bannister further alleged that World Sports Betting deleted his transaction history during the investigation period and questioned why he received what appeared to be a R50 “winning” payment from two alleged employees who appeared to have manually processed the refund.
ALSO READ: Gambling addiction referrals rise 40% as billions spent on betting advertising
NLC findings
According to correspondence seen by The Citizen, the National Lotteries Commission made three key findings after investigating the dispute.
Firstly, it found that system logs were provided by both companies for successful transactions on the day and times in question.
However, World Sports Betting advised that they don’t keep logs of unsuccessful transactions.
“Your transaction falls under transactions that were not successful,” the commission told Bannister.
Secondly, regarding the removal of Bannister’s play history, the commission found it was temporarily removed for investigation purposes and later reinstated.
“We were furnished with details of your play history and advised that it was reinstated as it was temporarily removed after the incident for their (WBS) investigation purposes on the matter.”
Thirdly, it concluded the wager appeared to have failed due to a technical error, which falls within the terms and conditions allowing for investigations and refunds.
“Therefore, and in the absence of any further evidence from yourself, Ithuba and WSB, we are unable to conclude that there was a successful wager that was placed,” the commission said.
Technical questions remain
Bannister argues that the betting process should be instantaneous and questions why no error message was displayed if the transaction failed.
He emphasises that the process should provide immediate confirmation with time stamp receipts and reference numbers.
“When it says successful, it [should] give you a time stamp receipt that will say that ‘you paid us at this time for this amount’. There’s a reference number for your ticket.”
He also wants a forensic IT analysis to verify the claims about system failures.
Personal impact and legal challenges
Bannister initially sought legal representation through a funding arrangement where a backer would receive 50% of any winnings in exchange for covering legal costs.
However, this arrangement fell through when the lawyer handling his case left the firm and communications ceased, with the firm unwilling to pursue it as a public interest story.
The dispute has taken a significant emotional toll on Bannister, who was already struggling financially due to Covid’s impact on his business.
The prolonged battle has left him feeling isolated and frustrated with the lack of consumer protection in the gambling industry.
“It took a mental toll on me because there was no way to fight them.”
He criticised the industry for promoting gambling without adequate consumer protection.
Additionally, Bannister continues to seek what he considers a fair resolution, hoping for the full prize amount as what he believes are rightful winnings.
“I’m not asking for funding that’s not rightfully mine.”
READ NEXT: R124 million PowerBall winner on why she ignored phone calls telling her she’d won
