South African lottery results

The South African National Lottery started in 2000 and took off almost immediately: around 800,000 tickets went out on the first day and R70 million worth were sold in the opening three weeks. The lottery has had four operators since then. Sizekhaya Holdings took over on 1 June 2026 under the fourth National Lottery licence, replacing Ithuba, and runs the games under the supervision of the National Lotteries Commission.

The handover brought some changes to the games themselves. Lotto Plus 2 was replaced by Lotto 5 Max and PowerBall Plus by PowerBall XTRA, both with a new twist: in the last draw of each calendar month an unwon jackpot cascades down to the lower divisions instead of rolling over. Ticket prices moved as well, and buying online got easier, with lottery purchases now built into around eight bank apps alongside the official website, mobile app, ATMs and USSD.

Anyone comparing the South African setup with lotteries elsewhere will spot familiar ideas. The add-on draw, where the same numbers go into a second game for a smaller fee, turns up in plenty of countries, including the New Zealand lotteries we also cover. What is distinctive here is how many of those add-ons run at once: a single Wednesday or Saturday coupon can carry your six numbers through three separate draws.

ELIGIBILITY:

• You must be 18 or older to buy a ticket or claim a prize.
• Tickets are sold by authorised retailers, on the official National Lottery website and app, through participating bank apps and ATMs, and via USSD.
• You can also build a selection in the mobile app, generate a QR code and have a retailer scan it.

Daily Lotto results

Daily Lotto launched on 10 March 2019 and is the only National Lottery game drawn every night. You pick 5 numbers from 1 to 36 and a board costs R3.00, the cheapest entry of any game. Match two numbers and you already win something. There are no fixed prizes: half of the net ticket sales goes into the pool and is split across four divisions, with any unclaimed division rolling down rather than over, so the pool is paid out in full at every draw. Draws use a certified random number generator at 21:00.

LOTTO results

Lotto is the country's best-known draw game. You choose 6 numbers from 1 to 52, or take a Quick Pick and let the system decide. Seven balls are drawn: the first six are the main numbers and the seventh is the Bonus Ball. Matching three numbers is enough to win, and the jackpot goes to anyone matching all six. If nobody does, it rolls over and keeps building.

A Lotto board costs R5.00. Draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 21:00.

LOTTO PLUS 1 results

Lotto Plus 1 puts your Lotto numbers into a second draw with its own jackpot. It costs R2.50 extra per board and you can only add it if you are already playing Lotto. You do not pick new numbers, and the draw follows straight after the main Lotto draw on the same evenings. The jackpot odds are identical to Lotto, though the fixed prizes in the lower divisions are smaller.

LOTTO 5 MAX results

Lotto 5 Max is the third draw of the night and replaced Lotto Plus 2 in June 2026. Another R2.50 per board adds it, but you have to be playing both Lotto and Lotto Plus 1 first, which brings a full entry across all three draws to R10.00 per board. Its jackpot rolls over during the month, then cascades to divisions 2 and 3 if it is still unwon in the month's final draw.

Powerball results

PowerBall is the game with the biggest jackpots in South Africa. It is a double-barrel draw: you pick 5 numbers from 1 to 50 on one grid and a single PowerBall number from 1 to 16 on another. Prizes run across nine divisions, and matching just the PowerBall on its own already pays out. The jackpot needs all five main numbers plus the PowerBall.

A PowerBall board costs R10.00. Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at 21:00.

PowerBall XTRA results

PowerBall XTRA replaced PowerBall Plus in June 2026. For R5.00 extra your PowerBall numbers go into a second draw with its own jackpot and its own nine divisions. The odds match the main game and the fixed prizes are lower. Like Lotto 5 Max, an unwon XTRA jackpot cascades down to the lower divisions in the last draw of each month rather than rolling on. The draw takes place immediately after PowerBall on Tuesdays and Fridays.