Goldrush Group (Pty) Ltd v North West Gambling Board and Others

Goldrush Group (Pty) Ltd held approximately 40% (later about 44%) of the shares in several companies holding bingo and route operator licences issued by the North West Gambling Board under the North West Gambling Act 2 of 2001. The licences, issued pursuant to a 2009 Request for Applications and renewed annually, required that at least 60% of the shareholding be held by local Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) resident in the North West Province. When Goldrush acquired additional shares from a local PDI shareholder in 2018, the local PDI shareholding fell below 60%, placing the licensee companies in breach of licence conditions. The Board refused to renew the licences in March 2019. After urgent proceedings, a consent order allowed renewal subject to compliance with the 60% local PDI requirement and permitted direct access to the High Court. Goldrush (not the licensee companies) then applied to the High Court for a declaratory order that the local PDI requirement was unlawful and invalid. The High Court dismissed the application with costs. Goldrush appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, and the High Court’s dismissal of the application stood.

The case reaffirms and clarifies South African law on locus standi, particularly the limits of own-interest standing where an applicant relies on a purely financial or commercial interest. It confirms that shareholders generally lack standing to challenge regulatory decisions affecting a company where the company itself has standing, unless broader interests of justice or public interest considerations are demonstrated. The judgment strengthens the application of Giant Concerts and subsequent Constitutional Court jurisprudence in administrative-law challenges.