The National Lottery’s sports betting game, Sportstake, will for the first time offer a guaranteed jackpot of R500 000 this weekend.

Ithuba, the national lottery operator, is raising the stakes by putting up a R500 000 guaranteed Sportstake jackpot.
The weekend fixture list opens from today, Thursday for all betting to be made.
This weekend’s Sportstake fixture list will see the game’s highest jackpot up for grabs for those correctly predicting the results of all 12 matches.

The highest Sportstake jackpot since Ithuba took over the running of the lottery last year, was R400 000 which was won in July last year, with the second highest being R300 000 won in December.
This year’s highest Sportstake jackpot was R235 000 won two months ago.

The Sportstake game has had over 2.6-million winners already with 16 winners walking away with over R100 000-plus winnings. In just 103 draws, Ithuba has paid out over R135 million to Sportstake players.
The weekend Sportstake fixture list will be available from Thursday June 2 from the all retailers nationwide, national lottery website and Friday’s Daily Sun newspaper. Players can play via the retailer or on the National Lottery website. The fixture will close on Saturday June 4 at 17:30.

How to Play Sportstake:
You can play the SPORTSTAKE game by predicting outcomes of 12 predetermined match fixtures by choosing a home win, or a draw or an away win. A minimum price per wager per board is R1.00.

MORE is at stake this Saturday with a R30-million guaranteed jackpot for LOTTO up for grabs.
Tickets for the guaranteed jackpot draw are on sale, and the draw will take place on Saturday, 28 May.
Sunday May 22 saw the launch of the enhanced Lotto and Lotto Plus games which have undergone exciting facelifts.
The changes are part of the lottery operator’s mission of enhancing and reinvigorating the lottery games to make them more exciting and appealing.

Ithuba has however also decided to up the ante by putting up a staggering R30 million guaranteed jackpot to coincide with the much-awaited launch.

Research by Ithuba has shown that SA lottery players want to win more and the lottery operator responded by bringing about changes that will allow more allocations in Lotto jackpots. There’s more in the Lotto jackpot prize, which is an estimated 50% more than previously.

The changes will allow the Lotto game more flexibility and put it in line with international benchmarks, allowing more funds to be available for the jackpot prizes.

Changes also include a guaranteed fixed prize pay-out of R50 for matching 3 numbers in the Lotto game. In the past the prize was determined by a number of tickets matching three numbers and thus sharing a prize pool.
Other changes include the introduction of the Quickpick option on the bet slip which has been given a new fresh look.
The Lotto Plus jackpot will, going forward, be rolling over instead of rolling down if not won. This means the Lotto Plus jackpot will keep growing leading to much bigger jackpots if not won.

Lotto Plus also has a guaranteed fixed prize pay-out of R20 for those matching 3 numbers.
Lotto tickets are now retailing at R5.00 while Lotto Plus retailing at R2.50.
The Saturday, 28 May, evening’s live Lotto draw will take place at 9pm on
SABC 2. Ticket sales close at 20:30, 30 minutes before the live draw.
Be sure to get your ticket and Phanda Pusha Play for your One Thin

THE Lotto game has undergone exciting changes which will see players winning more – including more in jackpots.
Research by National Lottery operator, Ithuba, has shown that most Lotto players in South Africa want to win more in Jackpots and for matching at least 3 numbers .

As part of its ongoing mission aimed at reinvigorating the lottery games and bringing about more excitement, Ithuba is making changes to the Lotto and Lotto Plus games.

In an unprecedented move, the Lotto game will see more allocations go into the jackpots for lottery players.
Newly-introduced changes by Ithuba will also see changes such as a fixed guaranteed prize pay-out of R50 for those matching 3 numbers on Lotto. At the moment if players get to match 3 numbers, they are paid out varying amounts which were dependent on the number of people that have won in the division.

There will also be changes in the second chance game, Lotto Plus, which will now see its jackpot rolling over instead of rolling down as it’s the case currently. The Lotto Plus jackpot will now keep on rolling until it’s been won, leading to sizeable jackpots.

Lotto Plus will also feature a fixed guaranteed prize pay-out of R20 for those matching 3 numbers. Changes will also include the introduction of the QuickPick option on the bet slip which has been given a new look and feel for the players’ convenience.

The changes which will kick in from Sunday May 22, 2016 where a mega guaranteed jackpot will be on the line for the Saturday 28th May draw. The changes will also see Lotto tickets retailing for R5.00 while the price of Lotto Plus will retail for R2.50.

In what has become a trend, Ithuba once again emerged victorious after former lottery operator, Gidani, was unsuccessful in the latest of a number of court challenges aimed at attempting to reclaim the lottery licence.
Today’s North Gauteng High Court judgement follows on the heels of a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision which in March dismissed with costs an appeal by Gidani against an earlier adverse judgement. The SCA in Bloemfontein ruled that there was no “justifiable” merit for an appeal and that there was “no reasonable prospect of success” on the matter.

The SCA application related to an unsuccessful 2014 legal challenge by Gidani against Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies for having awarded the third National Lottery licence to Ithuba.
Gidani has failed to reclaim the lottery licence.

Outside the Pretoria High Court, an elated Ithuba CEO Mrs Charmaine Mabuza said: “We are delighted with the outcome of the litigation and assure the South African public that we will continue to focus on invigorating the National Lottery and delivering a world class service. This judgement affirms our view that Ithuba is the legitimate and preferred licence operator of the South African National Lottery.”