"They are not in the regulations as an essential product and so Lotto tickets are not able to be sold... They should not be sold at the moment." Astonishingly, the South African betting industry has not suffered unduly from this apparent Covid-19 knock-out blow from trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel, who was barely able to hold back a smile as he made the announcement at a press conference at the end of April. Since then, national lottery concession holder Ithuba Holdings, has largely succeeded