ITHUBA also congratulates the latest LOTTO PLUS 1 Oudtshoorn, Western Cape winner who bagged R31 473 151 million from draw number 2234. The winning ticket was purchased at Dahley & Khandaker, with a wager of R40 via the manual selection. 

The unemployed woman in her 50s had been waiting patiently for the day that she would win big in one of the National Lottery games, as the most she had won previously was R150. The woman had checked her winnings on the internet and was home when she discovered that she is now a multi-millionaire. 

Despite her concerns of people finding out about her life-changing fortune, she is content in only having told her immediate family. She plans to carefully spend her winnings on her family, as well as investing a portion of it and giving back to those who are in need. 

“I was extremely shocked when I found out that I had won, however I don’t plan to change my life in any drastic way,” said the LOTTO PLUS 1 winner. 

Winners who receive winnings of R50 000 and above receive free trauma counselling and financial advice from professional psychologists and our team of financial advisors at no additional cost to our winners. 

All National Lottery winnings are tax free. 

Players must be 18 years or older to play. Play responsibly. 

ITHUBA is the proud operator of the National Lottery. 

The winner of the R12 Million jackpot from the 2nd March 2019 Lotto PLUS 1 draw has come forward. The 34-year-old Zimbabwean man who has been living in South Africa for 10 years now, was overwhelmed with emotions as he told ITHUBA of his humble background.

“My parents passed away when I was still very young and my sister had to step in as a mother figure to my siblings and I. Growing up in a child-headed home was tough – the poverty just never improved”, told the winner.

“When I was in my early 20s, my friend who was already living and working in Durban suggested that I come to look for work in South Africa to help ease my circumstances at home. I stayed in Durban for 5 years and during that time, I worked a lot of different casual and domestic jobs. One of the companies that I used to work for during their annual trade in Durban, recognised my hard work and offered me a permanent job at their head office in Johannesburg. This move changed my life. I was able to rent a decent place to stay and was able to help my family back at home to have food on the table every day. I thought that my life could not get better than that”, explains the winner.

“A few weeks ago, I decided to give LOTTO a try for the first time and I won just over R200. I decided to play again and this time I ticked the PLUS 1 and PLUS 2 options. I did not think much about the numbers, I just randomly selected them. I could not believe it when I learnt that I, in fact, had a winning ticket – I won R12 Million!”       

The winner told ITHUBA that he was worried about how he was going to use this money towards a long term financial stability. “I was so relieved to learn that ITHUBA offers psychological counselling and financial advice which have both helped me a lot. I will use my winnings to buy myself a house, renovate my family home in Zimbabwe, buy a car and invest the rest of the money.”

Commenting on who is eligible to play the Lottery and claim winnings, ITHUBA says anyone who is 18 years or older, holds a valid proof of identity and has a valid South African bank account is permitted to play, win and claim from the National Lottery. All winners claiming R50 000 and above qualify to receive psychological counselling and financial advice which are part of ITHUBA’s free winner services package.

He is one of two LOTTO PLUS 1 winners who each won R29 million from the 24 November LOTTO draw.

The winner says that he is a regular LOTTO and PowerBall player and has been playing for many years. However, he says that when he played his LOTTTO numbers last week for R50, using a QuickPick selection method, he did not imagine that he was just days away from being R29 million richer.

The elderly winner visited the National Lottery offices in the company of his son on Thursday, to finally claim his prize. He expressed both disbelief and gratitude for his new fortune that he refers to as a “blessing in his golden years”.

It seems that this jackpot could not have gone to a more deserving person. This winner is a community leader and has been a pillar of his community for decades. He has been running an old age home in his community since 1980, committed to taking care of the elderly.  He later started another Centre, taking care of children living with disabilities. He has sustained both organisations with the help of funding from different donors, and some of his own money. The winner says that money will go a long way in helping him expand the impact of his organisations. “There’s a lot children living with disabilities that are on the waiting list, waiting to receive help from our centre. We have not had enough money to accommodate them and this has been breaking my heart and giving me sleepless nights. I will use some of my winnings to improve this situation”, said the teary winner.

The winner has been running the NPOs with the help of his children who are fully hands-on in the organisations. His son says that from when he and his siblings where young, both his parents have always taught them the importance of helping others and sharing even the little that you have with them.

The winner received psychological counselling and extensive financial advice organised by ITHUBA, which he attended with his son.