South African Powerball Overview
The South African PowerBall is one of the nine games operated by the South African National Lottery. The draws are held every Friday and Tuesday at 21:00 on ETV. The lucky player who matches all the five main numbers as well as the PowerBall number wins the top jackpot.
The PowerBall has set the record for the biggest prize won when its jackpot swelled to a value of R102,016,595. The lucky winner of this prize never claimed it. The credit of giving away the biggest claimed prize of R91,068,427 also goes to the PowerBall.
The newest game introduced by the South African National Lottery is the PowerBall Plus, a game that gives PowerBall players another opportunity to win. Only PowerBall players are eligible to play the PowerBall Plus. The draws to the PowerBall Plus are held at 21:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays on ETV.
Buy South African PowerBall Tickets
South African players can purchase PowerBall tickets online as it is safer to do so. They will never be in danger of losing their tickets and they will be instantly informed if they win a prize.
One of the best online independent ticket purchasing agencies in South Africa is TheLotter. Players can purchase tickets to the PowerBall, PowerBall Plus, Lotto, and even international lottery games at TheLotter. They are safe, secure, and reliable and never cut a commission from players’ winnings. However, they do charge handling fees that are included in the price of the tickets. Players do not have to pay them anything more for their services.
South African PowerBall Latest Results
| Date | Numbers | Est. Jackpot |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-02 | 20 30 34 38 43 7 |
R 97 Million |
| 2021-06-29 | 6 35 41 43 45 4 |
R 88 Million |
| 2021-06-25 | 4 16 34 36 46 6 |
R 80 Million |
| 2021-06-22 | 3 11 24 33 41 16 |
R 75 Million |
History of the South African PowerBall
The history of the South African PowerBall is closely associated with the history of the South African National Lottery as it is one of the lottery games operated by the National Lottery.
The South African National Lottery was established on March 11, 2000. For several years after its launch, it was operated by Uthingo, a company that launched effective marketing campaigns to spread the lottery games all over South Africa and boost ticket sales. As a result of the company’s work, over 800,000 lottery tickets were purchased on the very first day of its launch. Tickets worth nearly R70 million were bought by enthusiastic South African lottery players during its first three weeks.
In July 2006, the operating license was granted to Gidani consortium for a period of seven years. But the lottery games had to shut down for sometime because Uthingo contested the licensing in court.
When the lottery was re-launched in October 2007, over 200,000 tickets were purchased in the very first three hours, proving beyond doubt the popularity of the South African National Lottery’s Lotto and PowerBall games. The credit of introducing scratchcards into the portfolio goes to Gidani, but these scratchcards were discontinued for several months after Gidani lost its operating license to Ithuba.
The current operator of the South African National Lottery is Ithuba. In 2015, Ithuba launched two brand new games—the PowerBall Plus, an extension of the existing PowerBall game and EAZiWIN, an instant win game that is inspired by traditional South African games such as 4 Siya Wina, Fafi Fortune, Popa Feela, and Morabaraba.
South African PowerBall Statistics
The credit of generating the biggest South African National Lottery jackpots goes to the PowerBall. In June 2011, a lucky player won the PowerBall jackpot, which had swelled to an unbelievable amount of R102,016,595, but the player never claimed the jackpot. In February 2010, the PowerBall jackpot shot up to R91,068,427, and it turned out to be the biggest collected jackpot in the history of the South African National Lottery.
Ever since its launch, the PowerBall has generated a number of lucky winners. Here is brief list of some of the biggest PowerBall wins:
- In July 2016, a 45-year-old government employee residing in Limpopo won the PowerBall jackpot worth R87 million. He called it a "gift from God."
- On Feb 12, 2010, a mother of two from Western Cape won R91 million with the very first PowerBall ticket she had purchased.
- On July 22, 2016, an unknown man won R87 million, the third largest jackpot to be won in the history of the PowerBall.
- On July 13, 2010, a player from the Western Cape won R69 million while playing the PowerBall. He decided to use the money to launch a business and to donate a part of it to charity.
Prize Structure
PowerBall players have to select five main numbers from the number range 1 – 45 and a PowerBall number from the number range 1 – 20. Prizes are awarded to players who match the main numbers. Larger prizes can be won by matching the PowerBall numbers.
If players match only the PowerBall, they will win a fixed prize of R10. The odds of winning this prize are 1 – 37. Players will win 5.1% of the prize pool if they match two main numbers and a PowerBall. The odds of winning this are 1 – 247. Players who match three main numbers and the PowerBall will receive 8.9% of the prize pool. The odds of doing this are 1 – 3,133. If players match all the five main numbers along with the PowerBall, they will win half the prize pool, but their odds of doing so are just 1 in 24,435,180.
Charitable Causes and Sponsorships
The members of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) are also the trustees of a trust fund created to make sure that lottery funds are spent on deserving charities. Called the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), it is run by distribution agencies appointed by the Minister of Trade and Industry. These distribution agencies receive administrative support from the NLC and identify worthy charities. The NLDTF gets 34% of all the revenue generated by the South African National Lottery along with all unclaimed prizes. So far, a large number of charities and projects have benefited from lottery funds.