The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA is excited to announce that the PowerBall and PowerBall PLUS jackpots from last night's draw 27 July 2021 have been won.
We can confirm that the biggest jackpot thus far for 2021 has been won with the PowerBall jackpot of over a whopping R158 Million. This means that the lucky winner walks away with the second-highest PowerBall jackpot in the history of the South African National Lottery, making them not only the biggest jackpot winner of 2021 but the biggest online jackpot winner since ITHUBA took over as the Operator in 2015.
The winning PowerBall ticket was purchased on the day of the jackpot draw, the winner from North West, played using the ABSA Banking APP and spent only R15 on the winning ticket using the manual selection method to select the winning numbers of 05, 12, 15, 28, 29, and PowerBall number 14.
The PowerBall PLUS jackpot of over R17 Million has also been won, the winning ticket was purchased just hours before the draw took place at Super Spar, Silver Oaks Crossing Centre in Pretoria. The winner spent R105 on the winning ticket using the Quick Pick selection method to select the winning numbers of 01, 12, 36, 38, 41, and PowerBall number 07.
ITHUBA Ceo, Charmaine Mabuza, “Congratulations to our PowerBall and PowerBall PLUS jackpot winners, when we took over the operations of the National Lottery, we promised to offer life-changing jackpots and we are delivering just that. We have kept our promise to reinvigorate the National Lottery by offering record-breaking jackpots and creating more winners and Multi-Millionaires than any other South African Lottery Operator. This is a huge milestone for ITHUBA, not only is this the second-highest PowerBall jackpot ever but the biggest win of 2021 thus far and the biggest online jackpot win since ITHUBA took over as the Operator in 2015, we are excited to have made two South African Millionaires once again”, said Mabuza.
ITHUBA was responsible for paying out the largest jackpot in the history of the South African National Lottery, the R232 Million PowerBall jackpot won in February 2019 and remains the record-breaking jackpot in the history of Africa.
Winners of R50 000 and more receive extensive financial advice as well as trauma counselling from qualified psychologists, to help them deal with their new financial circumstances. These advisory services come at no cost to the winner.
All national lottery winnings are tax free.
ITHUBA is the proud operator of the National Lottery.
The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA is excited to announce that the PowerBall jackpot from Tuesday 4 May 2021 of over R112 Million has been won, by two lucky players.
Making this the biggest jackpot amount won this year, each player will receive a whopping R56 Million from the PowerBall jackpot amount of over R122 Million. The winning numbers from this draw are 03, 09, 17, 25, 39, and the PowerBall is 13.
The first winning ticket was purchased a day before the lucky jackpot draw at Meerensee Dried Fruits and Nuts, in Richards Bay, Kwa-Zula Natal. The winner only spent R7.50 on the winning ticket using the manual selection method.
Our second winning ticket was purchased just hours before the draw took place at Ok Mini Mark Thornton in Cape Town, Western Cape. The winner spent R45 on the winning ticket using the manual selection method. This is one lucky player.
The CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza “A big congratulations to the lucky PowerBall winners. Both winners have not yet contacted ITHUBA but we anticipate that both winners will come forward soon. We urge all players to check their tickets”, said Mabuza.
The LOTTO Jackpot from Saturday 01 May 2021 has also been won and the lucky player scoops a massive R12 million. The winner, who is not yet known to ITHUBA, purchased the winning ticket using the National Lottery website platform. The winner spent R10 and opted for the quick pick selection method to select the winner numbers of 10, 11, 13, 20, 43, 51, and the Bonus number is 04.
Our Winner Services Department is ready to receive the winners. The first step will be to validate the winning ticket and offer the winners free trauma counselling and financial advisory services to assist the winners with their financial planning, as we do with all winners of R50 000 and above
All National Lottery winnings are tax free.
ITHUBA is the proud operator of the National Lottery.
The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA is pleased to announce that the R816, 190.10 LOTTO PLUS 2 jackpot winner has claimed his winnings, from the Wednesday draw 28 April 2021. The winning ticket was purchased at African Supermarket in Rustenburg, North West, with a ticket wager of R30.00 using the manual selection.
“I have many plans for 2021, I’m planning on buying a new car, last year November, I was a victim of crime and my car was stolen. I want to start my own plumbing business which will require me to have my own vehicle to travel around to meet my clients. I live with my fiancé and our three kids in a four-bedroom house and a portion of my winnings will go towards extending and furnishing our home. Lastly, I plan on paying off the final balance of our lobola and saving the rest of my winnings for my children’s education”, said the winner when he spoke to the National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA.
The CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza, “We are very excited that we have been able to produce so many jackpot winners thus far in 2021, congratulations to the LOTTO PLUS 2 winner. It’s always fulfilling to witness how Lottery jackpots change people’s lives, this is what we have always aimed for as the Operator”, said Mabuza.
When asked how he selected the winning numbers, the winner said “As a driver, I travel across South Africa and use different roads. When I see a number on the route marker signboard or a number on a car registration plate I write the number down and once I have six numbers I use the selected number to play the lottery.”
ITHUBA offers winners of R50 000 and above trauma counseling and extensive financial advice
On the other hand, the total value of estimated jackpots for the PowerBall and PowerBall PLUS for tonight’s draw is sitting at a whopping R155 Million. With the PowerBall at a massive R112 Million and the PowerBall PLUS at a cool R43 Million.
Players can purchase their PowerBall tickets from participating retailers, the National lottery website https://www.nationallottery.co.za/ using the National Lottery Mobile App, or participating banks namely FNB, ABSA, Nedbank and Standard Bank.
All National Lottery winnings are tax free.
Buy Your Ticket Now!
A 52-year old mother from Gauteng is the winner of the R500 000.00 Daily LOTTO jackpot from the 30 March 2021 draw. The winning ticket was purchased in Eldorado Park, Gauteng, and the winner spent only R9 on a quick pick selection wager to select the winning numbers of 16, 24, 25, 27 and 33.
CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza “Congratulations to our Daily LOTTO winner, we are excited that we have been able to produce so many jackpot winners in such a short period of time this year. Daily LOTTO is one of many games we have introduced since we took over as the National Lottery Operator. The game is one of the most affordable games in the Lottery gaming portfolio, at a cost of R3 per board, players can enter up to ten consecutive draws in advance, either by playing at their nearest authorized National Lottery retailer, via the National Lottery APP or the National Lottery Website or any of our banking partners”, said Mabuza.
The lucky winner recently claimed her prize at the National Lottery head office in Sandton, speaking to the National Operator, ITHUBA, on Monday 12 March, the 52-year old winner said.
“I kept my ticket in my purse to keep it safe until I could get the perfect opportunity to come and claim my winnings. I look after my elderly mother who is not well and lately, we’ve had many visits to the hospital. I’ve decided to open a fixed account and save my winnings until early next year. She further said, I have two daughters and my wish has always been to build them a double story dream house, were they can raise their children, my daughter is expecting her first child and the other one has two beautiful kids. I hope my mother also lives to see my dreams come true”, said the lucky winner.
DAILY LOTTO can be played every day, the draw take place at 21:00 and players must purchase their tickets before sales close at 20:30. Winners of R50 000 and above receive free financial advice and counseling courtesy of ITHUBA to make sure they make wise financial decisions and create sustainable wealth for years to come.
The PowerBall estimated jackpot for Friday 09 April 2021 draw is at a massive R65 million while the PowerBall Plus estimated jackpot is at a cool R22 million. If the PowerBall jackpot is won this Friday this will be the biggest jackpot won this year.
CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza “Our players are important to us and offering them bigger jackpots to play for, has always been ITHUBA’s objective and priority, ever since we took over the National Lottery in 2015. The current PowerBall jackpots are sure to make a huge difference in the life of one or more lucky players. We urge players to buy their PowerBall tickets and who knows you could be our next PowerBall jackpot winner”, said Mabuza.
This year the National Lottery has created over 26 million winners across all games since the beginning of 2021 and R800 million has been paid out in total winnings.
Players can purchase their PowerBall tickets from participating retailers, the National lottery website https://www.nationallottery.co.za/ using the National Lottery Mobile App, or participating banks namely FNB, ABSA, Nedbank and Standard Bank.
All winners receive financial advice and trauma counselling which the National Lottery offers to winners of R50 000 and above, at no cost to the winner.
The live broadcast will take place, Friday 09 April 2021 on Mzanzi Magic channel 161 and Newzroom Afrika channel 405 at 20:58.
Buy your ticket now!
59 year old player from Cape Town doubles his winnings by betting on the same numbers twice and scooping both Daily LOTTO jackpot amounts, from the Tuesday 09 March 2021 draw.
The lucky player bagged R426 867.20 and opted for the manual selection method with a ticket wager of R15 to select the winning numbers of 05, 09, 22, 27, and 33.
Group CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza “We are thrilled for our daily LOTTO winner we always thrive to create a better player and winning experience. This game is unique from the other games, there is no jackpot rollover the jackpot amount will roll down to the next prize division to be shared among all players. ”, said Mabuza.
The Daily LOTTO is a game that consists of 36 numbers, where players select and match only 5 numbers to win the jackpot. One of the unique features of this game is that it does not roll over but instead rolls down to the next division. This means that when there is no jackpot winner, the jackpot prize will be shared among winners in the next applicable divisions. The value of the jackpot and all other payouts vary from draw to draw depending on the number of tickets sold and winners produced.
The game is one of the most affordable games in the Lottery gaming portfolio. At a cost of R3 per board, players can enter up to ten consecutive draws in advance.
ITHUBA offers winners of R50 000 and above trauma counseling and extensive financial advice.
The PowerBall PLUS jackpot for tonight, Friday, 10 July, draw is at a whopping R153 Million!
“Although 2020 has been a challenging year due to COVID-19, it has proven to be a year of big jackpots for the National Lottery. Our first big jackpot winner was from Roodepoort, who won over R114 Million in February from playing with just R5. This was soon followed by a KwaZulu-Natal winner in April, who won over R135 Million. In the past three weeks, there have been two major jackpot winners, the R77 Million PowerBall winner from the Tuesday 30 June 2020 draw and the R15 Million LOTTO PLUS1 winner from the Wednesday 1 July 2020 draw, both players used their FNB banking Apps to play.”says Busisiwe Msizi, Head of Corporate Relations at ITHUBA
Should the jackpot be won this Friday, the lucky player/s will become the biggest PowerBall PLUS jackpot winner/s since ITHUBA took over in 2015.
“As the operator of the country’s favourite lottery games, we are excited to be able to offer these life changing jackpots amidst these uncertain times the country, and the world, is facing in the fight against COVID-19. The prospect of being able to change someone’s life for the better is truly fulfilling and this is what ITHUBA set out to do when we were awarded the license in 2015”, concludes Msizi.
The live broadcast takes place tonight, Friday 10 July, simultaneously on NewzRoom Afrika channel 405 and Mzansi Magic channel 161 at 20:58pm.
The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA, handed over 100 000 re-usable face masks to the Department of Health as part of the PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) donation to essential workers on Thursday 7 May 2020.
The handover ceremony took place at the ITHUBA office in Sandton. In attendance were the Honorable Ministers of Health and the South African Police Services, Dr Zweli Mkhize and Bheki Cele, Deputy Minister of Health Dr Joseph Phaahla and representatives of other corporates who were also handing over PPE donations to the Department of Health.
Minister Mkhize praised the donors for their contribution and encouraged continuous support from corporate South Africa, “We want to encourage others to come on board to give us support on a continuous basis”, said the Minister. He added that cloth masks will simplify the everyday lives of health workers during this time. “When we deal with masks (medical masks) in the context of a hospital, we dispose them as medical waste material in a specific, suitable method. We encourage people to use cloth masks because they don’t have to be disposed of immediately. We would like for our members to use cloth masks when they get into taxis and when they are on route between home and work. The medical masks can be used when they are at work.” added Minister Mkhize.
Commenting on this, Group CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza, said ITHUBA is in full support of the government’s initiatives to battle the COVID-19 virus. “We recognise the efforts of the South African government to curb the spread of the virus and as a responsible corporate citizen, we are pleased to extend our support to the government. While these masks are essential, they are a token of our appreciation to essential workers that are in the frontline of the COVID-19 battle”, she said.
Charmaine Mabuza is the winner of the Forbes Africa Social Impact Award 2020. She was recognised for, amongst other contributions, her role in the Eric and Charmaine Mabuza Foundation which has funded the tertiary education of young people from previously marginalized communities throughout South Africa. The Foundation has recently launched a food distribution initiative in Mpumalanga and Cape Town as means of aiding communities in distress during the COVID-19 lockdown, supporting over 5000 families.
ITHUBA’s other initiatives include programmes such as:
Mabuza says as per ITHUBA’s ethos to offer long-lasting assistance, the masks donated have a life-span of a year. “We trust that these masks, which a have a life-span of a year, will make a significant difference in the Department’s endeavors to battle COVID-19”, said Mabuza.
The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA, complies with the regulations put in place by the government and its regulator, the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
As such, ITHUBA has informed all participating retailers (stores) to cease the sale of all National Lottery tickets and validation of winning tickets. ITHUBA continues to urge players to play their favourite National Lottery games on-line on the following platforms:
These platforms remain accessible to players during COVID-19 lockdown.
We are in full support of the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the virus and we will take all steps necessary to safeguard the wellbeing of our players.
In light of the 21-day lockdown that is underway, the National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA has implemented effective measures in compliance with the Government’s interventions to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The health and safety of our players is of paramount importance to us. This is why we firmly urge all players to utilise our digital platforms to play their favourite National Lottery games. Our Mobile App is easily downloadable on all smartphones, and available on both the Play Store (android) and Apple Store (IOS). Players can also make use our up-to-date National Lottery website, and the digital channels of our banking partners namely Absa, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank.
As a technology driven company operating in a highly regulated industry, ITHUBA has always ensured that our state-of-the-art systems are solid, secure and crisis-management-ready. This includes equipping our staff to be able to work remotely and continue serving the nation, even during the lock-down period.
Our Call Centre is ready to assist first-time players in navigating the online realm with ease. Our Player Helpline remains operational and players can direct queries to 0800 484 822, Monday – Saturday from 06:00 – 23:00 and Sunday 06:00 – 21:00.
The COVID-19 virus will have a devastating impact in our communities. We encourage all South Africans to play their role by staying at home in order to curb the spread of the virus. We are in this together.
QUESTION: Can I still play National Lottery games during the COVID-19 lockdown period?
ANSWER:
Yes. National Lottery games will be available to play except for SPORTSTAKE as there are no fixtures due to games being cancelled. We encourage all of our players to make use of our digital platforms to play their favourite National Lottery games. Our Mobile App is easily downloadable on all smartphones. Players can also make use our up-to-date National Lottery website, and on-line platforms of our bank channel partners namely Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.
QUESTION: Can I collect my winnings from your offices during this lockdown period?
ANSWER:
In line with the nationwide lockdown, unfortunately no winners will be able to claim their winnings at any of our regional offices or at the ITHUBA Head office. Please remember, all winning tickets have a life-span of 365 days before they expire so keep your tickets safe until you can claim.
Winnings are deposited directly into your on-line account up to R50,000 when you play on the National Lottery website, National lottery Mobile APP.
QUESTION: Can I still validate and claim my winnings at Lottery retailers during the lock down?
ANSWER:
In line with the nationwide lockdown request to remain at home, we advise that you retain your ticket, write your name and ID number at the back and claim it once the lockdown is over.
QUESTION: Will there still be draws for LOTTO, Powerball and DAILY LOTTO during the lockdown?
ANSWER:
Yes Draws will continue and will not be affected during lockdown. LOTTO and Powerball draws will continue to be televised as per norm – LOTTO on Wednesdays and Saturdays on SABC 2 at 20:57; and Powerball on Tuesdays and Fridays on eTV at 21:00. All Draw results are also available on the National Lottery website, National Lottery Mobile App and our social media pages. The integrity of our draws is of outmost importance, therefore, all draws will continue to be independently audited with oversight from our regulator the NLC.
QUESTION: If I play on-line, will I still receive my winnings?
ANSWER:
All on-line winning tickets below R50,000 will be paid as usual, directly into the player’s on-line wallet or bank account if playing via the website, National Lottery APP or banking channels. Claims above R50,000 will have to be postponed until after the lockdown period is over. Winners are encouraged to keep their tickets safe until you can visit an ITHUBA office to claim after the lockdown period.
QUESTION: Will the call centre be available to help customers and retailers during the lockdown?
ANSWER:
Yes our call centre is operating remotely from home. You can contact our Player Helpline on 0800 484 822, Monday – Saturday from 06:00 – 23:00 and Sunday 06:00 – 21:00 for queries or visit our social media pages. The Retailer Helpline will also be operational and retailers can direct queries to 0860 456 886, Monday – Saturday from 06:00 – 23:00 and Sunday 06:00 – 21:00
QUESTION: Will jackpots be affected during the lockdown period?
ANSWER:
The schedule and rules of the games will remain unaffected. Jackpots will continue to roll over until they are won except for DAILY LOTTO jackpots which will roll down if not won.
QUESTION: How is ITHUBA helping South Africans to fight COVID-19?
ANSWER:
ITHUBA is working closely its Regulator, the National Lotteries Commission, and the Department of Health in exploring how ITHUBA can support the well-being and sustainability of South Africans. As a company that values UBUNTU and the upliftment of communities, society’s most vulnerable remains a priority to ITHUBA. Communication on ITHUBA’s activities in this regard will be communicated in due course.
The Corona Virus COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly shook global village. World leaders are making efforts to navigate and mitigate as much as possible, the effects of the virus outbreak. While that work is underway, as business and certainly as ITHUBA, the National Lottery Operator; we are very much aware that COVID-19 virus is a fast-moving concern with global economic and socio-political ramifications. The impact of the outbreak has had devastating effects on the global economy, communities and the most vulnerable in society.
We are very concerned about these sectors of the economy and their exposure to COVID-19, especially now as situation seems to worsen in South Africa and globally.
PROTECTING OUR EMPLOYEES
With regards to our employees and in the interest of their safety and well-being, ITHUBA has followed the precautionary hygiene guidelines as determined by the World Health Organisation, National Government including the Department of Health as well as other globally recognized health fraternities.
Pursuant to the calls for social distancing by President Cyril Ramaphosa, we have:
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
While we are mindful of the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business, particularly the supply chain, we continue to monitor developments and are creating contingency plans to mitigate the impact. Having assessed the impact on our supply chain, and assuming current conditions do not worsen, we do not currently anticipate a material impact on our operations. We are continually monitoring the situation and managing the impact on key critical projects. Our risk management team which consider employees, financial stress testing, supply chain, sales and regulatory compliance meets regularly to decisively and timeously make decisions in the context of COVID-19 to ensure business continuity and to manage the short, medium and long-term commercial impact on the business.
Keeping with the theme of social distancing, we have limited interactions as much as possible with the our suppliers to virtual meetings and continue to observe precautionary measures such as sanitizing for face-to-face interactions.
PRIORITISING OUR PLAYERS
It is important for our players to note that we remain committed to continue providing them with the lottery products that they have become accustomed to, with no disruptions to the schedule. The aforementioned precautionary measures, especially as it pertains to social distancing will be implemented to safeguard the wellbeing of staff, players and partners. For now, the National Lottery will continue to meet the needs of our players and retailers; ensuring that business operations remain stable.
We are fortunate that our products are available on online and digital platforms, such as on the SA National Lottery mobile APP and on the National Lottery website. Our channel partners namely Absa, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank also offer players the convenience of playing anywhere, anytime – 24/7. While the platforms offer convenience, now more than ever we urge players to use these digital and online platforms and play their part to stop the spread of the virus.
We are however mindful that we still serve lottery playing communities who are still not included in the digital economy. Their safety from transmission is also a priority, which is the reason we have installed fixed and mobile hand sanitizers for their safety and well-being when visiting our offices.
Winners and players alike are encouraged to contact our call centre for any enquiries on 0800 484 822, Monday – Saturday from 06:00 – 23:00 and Sunday 06:00 – 21:00
RETAILERS
Some retailer operational hours may have changed. As retailers are paramount to the operations of the National Lottery, our Sales and Field staff have been deployed and will ensure that all retailers are well equipped to assist players. Our Retailer Helpline remains operational and retailers can direct queries to our Call Centre on 0860 456 886, Monday – Saturday from 06:00 – 23:00 and Sunday 6:00 – 21:00
UBUNTU
This is not the time to panic. We are a nation that has shown tremendous courage and resilience. Together we can overcome this pandemic, only if we stand together, get informed and do the right thing. Let us live out Ubuntu. Let’s protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
The winner of the R114 Million PowerBall jackpot is a 35-year-old woman from Soweto.
The occasional Lottery player said she decided to try her luck when she saw other people queuing to buy their tickets. “On my way from work, I saw a long que of people with betslips and I knew they must be pursuing something big, even though I had no idea of what the jackpot prize was. I became curious and searched for some coins in my bag to see if I could also play” said the winner.
The young winner, who manually selected her numbers, spent only R5 on her winning ticket that she bought at Victor and Son’s café in Roodepoort.
Speaking to ITHUBA, the winner said that she was renting a back room in Soweto. “Sometimes, I could not always afford rent so my brother would always assist me”.
The winner, who is a blue-collar worker, says she has been yearning to be fully involved in her children’s everyday life for years now. “My 4 children have been staying with my mother back at home, and I have never been able to spend as much time with them as I wish since I had to work in Johannesburg. I am mostly grateful that this money will give me an opportunity to raise my children, to be able to take them to school and have the pleasure of preparing a scrumptious meal that they can enjoy when they get back from school, something that I’ve been wishing for, for a long time.” she said.
The winner received trauma counselling and financial advice which ITHUBA offers to winners of R50 000 and above for free. “Judging by the amount of time the winner spent with both the psychologist and the financial advisor, we are confident that she will make sound financial decisions that will secure her family’s future for generations to come” said Busisiwe Msizi, head of corporate relations at ITHUBA.
ITHUBA treated the winner to a five-star hotel stay in Gauteng. “The winner was in complete disbelief when she saw her room. She said in Isizulu: ‘umbhede wami ngempela lona, omkhulu kangaka!’(which means, ‘is this big bed really mine’)” said Msizi.
The winner said in addition to buying her own house, she wants to build her mother a big house that she will comfortably live in. She would also like to buy herself a stylish car but first needs to learn how to drive and obtain her driver’s license as soon as possible.
“I can’t wait to drive past my ex-boyfriend in my new car. He will probably faint when he sees me waving at him. He broke up with me because I was broke and didn’t have a fancy job” she said jokingly.
The winner, who will not be returning to her job, says her new life has begun.
This PowerBall jackpot has rolled 19 times before it got hit. It is the 6th highest jackpot to ever be won in the history of the South African National Lottery, the highest one being R232 Million that was won in February 2019.
A part time builder from Tembisa, Johannesburg has become the latest millionaire, winning the R8 217 004.70 Million PowerBall PLUS jackpot from the 29 November 2019 draw. He becomes one of 8 jackpot winners in the past two months, that saw ITHUBA pay over R285 Million in jackpot prizes across the various National Lottery games.
The father of three, says that he stopped playing the lottery a few years back after he thought that the lottery numbers were rigged and only certain people won. He only started playing again early this year, after seeing the record breaking jackpots ITHUBA was delivering and the number of players winning daily. He tried his luck once more and won R200 giving him faith that the lotto is in fact not rigged. Asked how he found out about his winnings, he said he watched the draw live on TV that night and recognised some of his numbers but was not sure if he had indeed won the jackpot. It was only three days later that he checked his ticket, which he had kept in his lucky jacket, that he realised he had indeed won the jackpot.
Thus far, the only person he has told about his winning is his wife, and he only told her after he came to the ITHUBA head office to verify his ticket. He is not planning on telling his children about his winning because he fears they might tell the rest of the community and expose him to unnecessary attention, but this coming Christmas, he says he will be able to afford to buy them presents they wish for.
He does not plan to make any drastic changes to his lifestyle and will continue working and living in Tembisa. He plans to invest a significant amount of his winnings and the rest he will use to renovate his house and take his family on holiday.
Busisiwe Msizi, Head of Corporate Relations at ITHUBA, says “We are extremely happy that we have managed to make another player a millionaire this festive season. What is more exciting is that, in the last two months, six players have become instant millionaires through our various games. This year alone, we have paid over R2.8 Billion in lottery winnings and this is a number that keeps growing daily. When we took over as the National Lottery operator, one of the promises we made was to make the lottery more exciting and create more jackpot winners. We are glad that we continue to make this possible for our players.”
As per all winners of R50 000 and above, the jackpot winner received free financial advice and trauma counseling courtesy of ITHUBA.
The South African National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA, is excited to announce that over R2.5 Billion has been won across all the games, this year alone - another record breaking achievement by the third National Lottery Operator who took over lottery operations in 2015.
“We congratulate all the winners who have come forward to claim their winnings. As ITHUBA, we set out to change the lives of ordinary South Africans since taking over National Lottery operations and this momentous pay out is testament that we are positively contributing to the betterment of South Africans” says Khensani Mabuza, Corporate Relations Executive at ITHUBA.
The biggest jackpot ever to be paid in the history of the lottery in South Africa, and Africa at large, was the R232 Million PowerBall Jackpot that was won by a blue collar worker from Cape Town after 24 rollovers.
Other notable big jackpots came from PowerBall and PowerBall PLUS games, with a R141 Million win on 23rd August 2019 and R70 Million on 3rd September 2019, respectively, both these players have come forward to claim their winnings.
ITHUBA’s DAILY LOTTO game, is making significant contributions towards sales and produces winners daily. Since its launch in March 2019, DAILY LOTTO has paid out R 224,665,218.51 and that number continues to grow. Staying true to our promise of innovation and introducing unique Lottery games, ITHUBA has launched its second and newest game under their sports gaming portfolio, SPORTSTAKE 8 which has already paid out R1, 744,210.20. SPORTSTAKE 13 has paid over R89, 103,342.20 in winnings.
“When we were awarded the National Lottery license we promised to reinvigorate the National Lottery by optimising the player and winner experience. We have done this by offering life changing jackpots, introduced an exciting game portfolio and increased lottery access channels making it more convenient to play lottery games than ever before. Players can now use our National Lottery website, our mobile app and any of the four major banks to play the Lottery, this is over and above the Retail network” says Mabuza.
A domestic worker from Pretoria has become the latest millionaire scooping R70 873 741.30 in the PowerBall PLUS draw of 3 September 2019.
The single mother of one, played the winning ticket at her local Shell Garage and spent only R7.50 using the manual selection method. Speaking to ITHUBA, she explained that she initially thought only four numbers that she played had won. It was only after she told her employer that she had won with four numbers that her employer made her aware that she had in fact won the big jackpot. She says she immediately rushed back to the Shell Garage where the cashier advised her to write her name and ID number on the back of her winning ticket and go to the offices of ITHUBA to claim her winnings.
Sharing her life story, she says she was drowning in debt as she is the sole bread winner in her household. The night before the draw, she says she put her ticket in the Bible a friend had given her and went on her knees and prayed to God give her a sign that soon all her troubles will be over. Continuing her story, she says she could not sleep and again at 3am, she asked God to bless her and her family with good fortunes.
The winner has already resigned from her job as a domestic worker of over 30 years, and plans to use her winnings towards renovating the family house she shares with her daughter, grandchild and younger brother. She also plans to help her daughter with her tertiary fees so that she can be the first in their family to get a tertiary qualification. She is also planning to buy a five bedroom house in one of Pretoria’s leafy suburbs, take her family to Cape Town for the holidays and buy a Smart phone.
Asked how she picked her winning numbers, she says she always plays the same numbers but sometimes picks numbers that are popular and drawn often. She plans to continue playing the lottery even though she has already won the jackpot and plans to keep her winning receipt in her Bible as a reminder to always thank God for her fortunes. After receiving free financial advice and trauma counselling as part of ITHUBA winners’ support programme, the winner plans to invest most her winnings and live off the interest from her investments.
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