The National Lottery is operated by Sizekhaya holdings, to whom the licence was awarded in 2026. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission and was established in 2000.
Lottery tickets may be bought only by people of at least 18 years of age.
In the 2007 fiscal year transaction values totalled R3.972 billion, with an average of five million transactions per week. In the 2012 National lottery generated R4.7 billion in sales of Lotto and Powerball tickets.
Lotto is the most popular type of gambling in South Africa but Powerball has been the faster-growing for last years due to its high payouts.
History The National Lottery was introduced to South Africa on 11 March 2000. At the time it was run by Uthingo.
After a marketing effort that aimed to reach 80 percent of South African homes directly more than 800,000 tickets were sold in the first day of availability Nearly R70 million worth of tickets were sold in the first three weeks of operation.
In October 2002 operator Uthingo suggested a daily lottery to supplement the weekly draw. The concept, called Keno, was rejected by the trade and industry ministry in March 2003. In November 2003 the Lotto Plus game was launched, acting as a supplementary weekly lottery available on the purchase of a primary lottery ticket, with an entry fee of R1.
In July 2006 the Gidani consortium, featuring Greek company Intralot as a technical partner, was judged the preferred bidder to operate the lottery for seven years starting April 2007. The operating licence was awarded in October 2006. In March 2007 the Pretoria High Court set aside that award on application by incumbent Uthingo, finding that the failure to adequately investigate the shareholders in some bidding consortia left room for conflicts of interest.
Following the final draw by incumbent Uthingo, the lottery was indefinitely suspended in April 2007.
In September the operating licence was awarded to Gidani again. When ticket sales re-opened in October more than 200,000 tickets were sold within the first three hours. Gidani introduced scratch cards, but they were discontinued for several months when they lost their licence to Ithuba.
In 2015, Lotto licences were awarded to ITHUBA. In 2015, two new games were introduced by Ithuba: EAZiWIN, an instant win game consisting of four types of indigenous -inspired games; Morabaraba, Fafi Fortune, 4 Siya Wina and Popa Feela and PowerBall Plus.
In December 2020 the lottery drew the unusual final number sequence "5", "6", "7", "8" and "9" with a powerball number of "10". This caused controversy with members of the public accusing the lottery of corruption or collusion with the 20 winners.
In June 2026, Sizekhaya took the licence of the National Lottery, and made significant changes too.
Games
Nine games operate under the South African National Lottery brand:
LOTTO +LOTTO, LOTTO PLUS 1 and LOTTO 5 MAX odds Match Odds of winningPrize31 : 71.74R20 (R10 for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)2 and Bonus1 : 95.65R30 (R15 for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)3 and bonus1 : 1,028.21R200 (R100 for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)41 : 1,370.94R200 (R100 for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)4 and bonus1 : 30,160.77R4,000 (R2,000 for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)51 : 75,401.93Pari-mutuel 25% (35% for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)5 and bonus1 : 3,393,086.67Pari-mutuel 15% (20% for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)All 61 : 20,358,520Pari-mutuel 60% (45% for PLUS 1 & 5 MAX)
Players buy tickets with their choice of six different numbers between 1 and 52; there is a provision for random numbers to be generated automatically for those who do not wish to choose, known as Quick Pick.
When introduced, the LOTTO jackpot draw required numbers from 1 to 49. Ithuba Holdings increased the number from 49 to 52 on 30 July 2017, and then from 52 to 58 on September 21st 2025. Sizekhaya reduced the number from 58 to 52, from June 3rd 2026.
In the draw, six numbered balls are drawn without replacement from a set of 52 balls numbered from 1 to 52. A further Bonus Ball is also drawn, which affects players who match five, four or three numbers.
Prizes are awarded to players who match at least three of the six drawn numbers, with prizes increasing for matching more of the drawn numbers. All players who match all six drawn numbers win equal shares of the jackpot; the chance of doing so is 1 in 20,358,520. If four, five, or six balls are matched, the relevant prize is divided equally between all who match that many balls. If no player matches all six numbers, the jackpot is added to that of the next Lotto draw—a Rollover.
The entry fee to the LOTTO draw is set at R5.00 per board.
The draw is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays on SABC 1 & SABC 2 at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT).
LOTTO PLUS 1
LOTTO PLUS 1 is exactly the same as LOTTO, but gives the player a second chance to win. When buying a LOTTO ticket, the player must pay an extra R2.50 per board to enter the LOTTO PLUS 1 draw. Odds are the same, while prizes are usually slightly lower.
LOTTO PLUS was introduced on 26 November 2003.
The draw is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays on SABC 1 & SABC 2 at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT), right after the LOTTO draw.
LOTTO 5 MAX (previously as LOTTO PLUS 2)
LOTTO 5 MAX is exactly the same as LOTTO, but gives the player a third chance to win. When buying a LOTTO ticket, the player must pay an extra R2.50 per board to enter the LOTTO 5 MAX draw. Odds are the same, while prizes are usually slightly lower.
LOTTO 5 MAX was introduced originally as LOTTO PLUS 2 on 30 July 2017, by ITHUBA.
The draw is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays on SABC 1 & SABC 2 at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT), right after the LOTTO PLUS 1 draw.
PowerBall +PowerBall and PowerBall XTRA odds Match Odds of winning% of total winning poolPowerBall 1 : 27.75Fixed (R10 for PowerBall/R5 for PowerBall XTRA)1 ball and PowerBall 1 : 45.51Fixed (R20 for PowerBall/R10 for PowerBall XTRA)2 balls and PowerBall 1 : 238.9Fixed (R100 for PowerBall/R50 for PowerBall XTRA)3 balls 1 : 228.28Fixed (R100 for PowerBall/R50 for PowerBall XTRA)3 balls and PowerBall 1 : 3,424.26Fixed (R500 for PowerBall/R250 for PowerBall XTRA)4 balls1 : 10,044.49Fixed (R2,000 for PowerBall/R1,000 for PowerBall XTRA)4 balls and PowerBall1 : 150,667.383%5 balls1 : 2,260,010.676%All balls including PowerBall1 : 33,900,16091%
When introduced, the PowerBall jackpot draw required players to pick five main numbers from 1 to 45 and one 'PowerBall' number from 1 to 20 for an entry fee of R5 per board. Prizes may be won by matching the main numbers, with matches of the PowerBall number winning higher prizes. The top prize of the game is won by matching all five main numbers as well as the PowerBall. Draws take place on Tuesdays and Fridays on SABC 1 & SABC 2 at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT).
After 28 November 2015, odds were changed as more possibilities to win were introduced. Players matching only the Powerball would win money, while before, that ticket would not win anything. In addition, the number of main balls was raised from 45 to 50.
After 2 June 2026, Sizekhaya reduced the number of Powerballs from 20 to 16, giving players more chances to win, along with increasing the entry fee to R10 per board.
The record prize for any Lottery game in South Africa was in PowerBall at R178,955,240.90 on 20 January 2026.
PowerBall XTRA (previously as PowerBall PLUS)
PowerBall XTRA is exactly the same as PowerBall, but gives the player a second chance to win. When buying a PowerBall ticket, the player must pay an extra R5 per board(originally R2.50) to enter the PowerBall XTRA draw. Odds are the same, while prizes are halved. It was introduced on 28 November 2015 as PowerBall PLUS, by the National Lottery of South Africa in Ithuba's license. After June 2026, Sizekhaya renamed the game as PowerBall XTRA.
Draws take place on Tuesdays and Fridays on SABC 1 & SABC 2 at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT), right after the PowerBall draw.
Daily LOTTO Players buy tickets with their choice of five different numbers between 1 and 36; Numbers can be selected using a manual or QuickPick selection method at a cost of R3 per board.
There are four prize pools for matching 2, 3, 4 or 5 numbers correctly and if nobody matches 5 balls in a draw, the jackpot rollover to the following draw(previously rolled down to matching 4 numbers). +Dailty Lotto oddsmatchOdds of winning% of total winning pool5 balls1: 376,99235,60%4 balls1: 2,4328,20%3 balls1: 8116,40%2 balls 1: 7,639,80%1 ball1: 2,40%
The Daily LOTTO was introduced on 10 March 2019 and draws take place every night at 21:00 Central Africa Time (CAT), every single day except Christmas Day.
Matchplay 13 (previously as SPORTSTAKE 13)
A player can play Matchplay 13 by predicting outcomes of 13 predetermined match fixtures drawn from English and other identified professional soccer fixtures. As of 1 June 2026 SPORTSTAKE was rebranded to MATCHPLAY by the new lotto operator.
For each fixture the player chooses their prediction by marking on the bet slip;
– for a home win
[x] – for a draw
– for a home loss (Away win)
Prize division Theoretical odds of winning Pool % Match 13 1:1,594,32330% Match 12 1:62,320 15% Match 11 1:5110 20% Match 10 1:697 35%
E-Instant (previously as EAZiWIN)
As well as tickets for the Draw Games, the National Lottery also sells instant win digital scratch cards. These cards are sold entirely online. Some cards are based on traditional african games, others on sports. As of January 2024, there were 20 different EAZiWIN games. From June 2026, there are just 4 different E-Instant games.
Discontinued games
Wina Manje Wina Manje was a scratchcard game that consisted of many types of scratch cards. This was replaced by EAZiWIN in 2015.
Raffle South African National Lottery announced that there would be a one-off raffle for Christmas 2016. The draw took place on 30 December 2016. It was officially named "Raffle". Prizes included R1,000, R10,000, R100,000, with the top prize being a Mercedes Benz C200 Cabriolet.
PICK 3 This game launched on 3 December 2016. It was a daily game with a top prize of R10,000.
The PICK 3 game was discontinued from 15 March 2019. One can still view the past results of the game until discontinuance, but no further plays can be made for this game mode.
PICK 3 was effectively replaced by the DAILY LOTTO game.
Daily LOTTO PLUS This game was launched on September 21st 2025.
Same as Daily Lotto but offered a second chance to win. When buying a Daily Lotto ticket, the player must pay an extra R1.50 per board to enter the Daily LOTTO PLUS draw. Odds are the same, while prizes are usually a bit lower than the main game.
Draws were held Monday-through-Sunday (excluding Christmas Day) at 21:00 (CAT)
The Daily LOTTO PLUS were discontinued, after the National Lottery's license moved to Sizekhaya.
Record jackpots Below lists the highest 11 jackpots from the National Lottery of South Africa. RankJackpotGameDraw numberDateNotes1R232,131,750.69PowerBall9652019-02-19Claimed (1 Winner, a man in his 50s)2R153,466,150.39PowerBall Plus11102020-07-10Claimed (1 Winner, a man who is not a regular player)3R145,469,799.30PowerBall9082018-08-03Claimed (1 Winner, 34-year-old man)4R141,343,180.95PowerBall10182019-08-23Claimed (1 Winner, 50-year-old man)5R135,366,753.00PowerBall10892020-04-28Claimed6R128,593,394.50PowerBall17252026-06-027R121,730,295.90Powerball11332020-09-298R114,580,902.70Powerball10652020-02-04Claimed (1 Winner who is 35 years of age & the first woman to win a jackpot over 100 million)9R114,242,816.50Powerball10452019-11-26Claimed (1 Winner, 32-year-old man)10R110,000,000Lotto17832018-01-274 Winners won R27.5 million each11R102,016,595.00PowerBall1662011-06-03Claimed (1 Winner, a man in his 20s)12R100,000,000,00Lotto24612024-08-0313R99,068,427.00PowerBall322010-02-12Claimed
Operators
OperatorYear begunYear stoppedSizekhaya Holdings2026PresentIthuba Holdings20152026Gidani20072015Utingo20002007
Socio-economic impact