Online lottery platforms make it very easy to access any lottery in the world from the comfort of your home, or from anywhere that has an internet connection for desktops, laptops, or tablets.
However, the most common option to access these platforms is through smartphones, connecting to an app or to the web version available for mobile phones.
This is why eight games offered by The National Lottery can be accessed from South Africa (which we will detail below), as well as world lotteries with prizes reaching hundreds of millions of euros, as we will also see in this section.
The National Lottery was introduced in South Africa in March 2000. It is currently managed by ITHUBA Holdings. With a gaming license regulated by the National Lottery Commission, which is in charge of the rules relating to the games, the players, the ticket prices of each of the games, as well as the prizes assigned to each category.
What lotteries are offered in South Africa by Ithuba?
Lotteries in South Africa are very varied in nature. Some with daily draws, others with weekly draws, where the player can randomly select the combination of numbers for his bet.
There are also the so-called sports games, for those players who like to bet on their favorite teams. Let’s know how all of them work:
Daily LOTTO
Daily Lotto is a very recent game. It started in March 2019 and is drawn every night of the year, except Christmas Day.
It consists of selecting 5 numbers from a table with 36 boxes numbered from 1 to 36 and has 4 prize categories.
The minimum number of matches to be eligible for a prize is 2 of the 5 numbers of the winning combination.
This game does not have a rollover function, so in case there is no first category winner or winners in a draw, the amount allocated to prizes in that category is divided among the winners in the next category.
As it is a daily draw lottery, it does not offer the possibility of creating large millionaire jackpots, but it is ideal for those players who enjoy the excitement of daily draws and win smaller amounts more often.
LOTTO, LOTTO PLUS, and LOTTO PLUS 2
LOTTO is the game that is drawn twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday.
The game consists of selecting 6 numbers from a table numbered from 1 to 52. At the moment of the draw, the 6 numbered balls for the first category winning combination are drawn.
And an extra ball that will award a special prize to the winners of only 5 main numbers, and also to the winners of only 4 of the main numbers.
In this way, the prizes are distributed among 8 categories, and to get a prize you must hit at least 2 of the main numbers, plus the extra ball.
The first category prize has a rollover function so that if there is no winner, the amount is increased for the next draw.
LOTTO PLUS must be played in conjunction with LOTTO by increasing the ticket price by R2.50. The prizes are significantly smaller than LOTTO.
A draw is made exclusively for this game, just after the LOTTO draw has ended, and the player has a second chance to win by playing the same combination, but must indicate this on the ticket.
LOTTO PLUS 2 is a third chance to play in addition to LOTTO and LOTTO PLUS, which must be played together for the price of R2.50 added.
In this case, as in the case of LOTTO PLUS, the prizes are significantly lower than those of LOTTO, but it is a third chance to win with the same combination.
POWERBALL and POWERBALL PLUS
The POWERBALL despite being a fairly recent lottery game, has achieved great acceptance due to the much higher prizes than the traditional lottery. There are two weekly draws, every Tuesday and Friday.
The South African Powerball has a minimum guaranteed prize of R3 M (approximately 165,000 euros) for the first category. The first category prize is cumulative, this means that in case there is no winner or winners in a draw the amount will be accumulated for the same category in the next draw, and so on up to 20 draws.
The bet consists of selecting 6 numbers, 5 of them must be chosen from between 1 and 50 in the first part of the table, and the sixth number at the bottom of the table from between 1 and 20.
Powerball offers 10 prize tiers, and it is necessary to hit at least the extra ball to obtain a prize equivalent to twice the price of the bet.
POWERBALL PLUS, is a second chance to play and win with the same combination as POWERBALL, which means it must be played together.
It must be indicated on the ticket that you wish to play POWERBALL PLUS, paying a supplement of R2.50 and obtaining significantly lower prizes.
The draw for POWERBALL PLUS takes place on the same days as the draw for POWERBALL.
SPORTSTAKE 8 and SPORTSTAKE 13
SPORTSTAKE 8 is based on predicting football results from 8 official matches from the African leagues, and from the best world leagues.
The ticket includes 16 results predictions. The results must be predicted for the first half on the one hand and the second half on the other, for each match on the ticket.
The player will use the sign of 1, to indicate that the team playing at home, scores more goals than the opponent. The X for the case of a draw at the end of that period, and the 2 for the case that it is the visiting team that scores more goals in that period.
The matches that make up the predictions are played on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. And the results are made official on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays respectively.
In SPORTSTAKE 13 the player must predict the result of 13 football matches between the English Premier League and other internationals games.
In this case, unlike SPORTSTAKE 8, the result at the end of the match and of the extra time, if any, will be the final result.
The player must identify with sign 1 if he believes that the home team will win at the end of the match. The X will be used for the case of a draw, and the 2 for an away win.
A prize is awarded for a minimum of 10 results, and there are four prize categories, for winners of 10, 11, 12, and 13 results.
International lotteries that can be played from South Africa
There are many lotteries in the world that can be played online, without the need to be a resident of the country.
Spectacular lotteries with prizes that make any mortal dizzy. Lotteries that guarantee minimum prizes for the winners of the winning combination, and that accumulate in case there are no first-class winners.
Let’s see some of the lotteries that are most popular among players, such as the American ones: Powerball and MegaMillions, the European ones: Euromillions and Eurojackpot, and a long list of very interesting lotteries:
The USA Powerball
Powerball is a lottery that starts with a guaranteed minimum of $40M for the first category, which is accumulated in each draw in case there is no winner. It has no accumulation limit and contemplates up to 9 prize categories. The game takes place in a 5/69 + 1/26 format.
There are 2 weekly draws, every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern time.
Powerball US holds the record for the highest prize awarded to date, $1,580M
the American MegaMillions
MegaMillions also has a minimum guaranteed jackpot of $40M, which will be accumulated without limit, in the event there is no winner or winners, and distributes prizes to 9 categories. This lottery game has a 5/70 + 1/25 format.
Draws are held in Atlanta, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays.
This lottery has awarded the highest prize to date to a single winner, $1,537 M.
Euromillions
Euromillions is a lottery organized by 9 European countries, it guarantees a minimum jackpot of 17 Million Euros, which would be accumulated progressively in each draw in case there is no winner.
The maximum figure established in successive accumulations today is 200 million euros, and will be increased to 250 million euros in the future. The matrix of the game is 5/50 + 2/12.
The draws are held in Paris, every Tuesday and Friday. There are 13 categories of prizes available.
Eurojackpot
Eurojackpot is also a European lottery that was born later from Euromillions and is very similar in its regulation and form of play. It has a matrix of 5/50 + 2/10.
This lottery has only one weekly draw, every Friday at 9 pm local time, and is held in the city of Helsinki. It has a total of 12 prize categories, the first one being reserved for 5+2 figure winners.
With a guaranteed minimum jackpot of 10 million euros, which can be accumulated up to a maximum of 90 million, in case there is no first category winner.
These are perhaps the best known because of the millions they give out in each draw, but there are many more, both in Europe, North and South America, Brazil, and Australia. All of them are very interesting and easy to play and win.
Online lottery service for players in South Africa
From an online lottery platform, an online lottery service is offered to all players in South Africa, making it easy for them to buy tickets and participate in the world’s biggest lotteries.
In a very simple way. It’s just a matter of registering by opening a user account, choosing your favorite lotteries and numbers, and… You can start playing now!
Winning the lottery in South Africa
Every lottery player dreams that he or she will one day be the lucky winner, and in most cases, even in that dream, he or she has been hoping to make a deal of the millions he or she will win.
And almost automatically the following question comes to mind What should be done? How should it be collected? Should taxes be paid?
How do you claim your lottery prizes?
Depending on which lottery you win, and what the prize amount is, there are several ways to claim it.
In the event that any of the South African lotteries are won, claiming the prize will depend on the amount of the prize. If the prize is up to R2,000, the prize can be claimed directly from any authorized wholesaler.
If the prize is between R2,000 and R50,000, it can be claimed by mail, and if the prize is more than R50,000, it can be claimed directly from a regional office of the organizer Ithuba.
The online prizes of the South African lotteries are easier to collect, as the organizer will have already contacted you to inform you of the winnings, and if the amount won is less than R50,000, this amount will have been transferred directly to the account registered with the organizer.
Prizes over R50,000 are claimed directly and personally at any of the regional offices of Ithuba, using a claim form.
If the prize corresponds to one of the international lotteries acquired through an online platform, usually amounts of up to R50,000, will be paid directly into the registered user’s account, being available immediately to request a withdrawal or to use that money for further purchases.
If the amount is higher or a large jackpot, the legal department of the platform will contact the winner, to advise and assist him/her in the collection process, providing him/her with various alternatives to collect his/her prize.
Either organizing a trip for the winner, or managing the collection through a legal intermediary who receives the prize and then delivers it.
Do I pay taxes when I win the lottery?
As in the previous case, it will also depend on the lottery won. In the case of the South African lotteries, they are exempt from paying taxes, which are not considered income as such, but rather are considered capital, according to the current tax law.
In the case of international lotteries, each country or lottery organization has specific measures in place for each lottery.
Some countries do not record lottery prizes with taxes, while others deduct a certain percentage of the amount won at the time of payment. It is best to check with the platform on this specific issue for the lottery you wish to play.
Do lottery prizes expire?
South African lottery prizes can be claimed up to 365 days after the draw date. After that date, the prizes will expire without any option to claim.
In the case of international lotteries, there are different periods for claiming prizes.
Each organization determines in its regulations a maximum date to claim, in the case of the American Powerball and MegaMillions lotteries, as well as the European Euromillions and Eurojackpot lotteries, the maximum period to claim the prize is 180 days.
For other international lotteries, it must be consulted directly on the online platform.
Big jackpots paid out in the South African lottery
The largest jackpots paid out by the international lotteries have been indicated above, with the record to date being held by Powerball US.
For the South African lotteries, this is the top prize ranking:
| Date | Jackpot | Lottery |
| 2019-02-19 | R232,131,750.69 | PowerBall |
| 2020-07-10 | R153,466,150.39 | PowerBall Plus |
| 2018-08-03 | R145,469,799.30 | PowerBall |
| 2019-08-23 | R141,343,180.95 | PowerBall |
| 2020-04-28 | R135,366,753.00 | PowerBall |
| 2020-09-29 | R121.730.295,90 | Powerball |
| 2020-02-04 | R114,580,902.70 | Powerball |
| 2019-11-26 | R114,242,816.50 | Powerball |
| 2020-12-01 | R113,769,364.40 | Powerball |
| 22018-01-27 | R110,000,000 | Lotería Nacional |
| 2011-06-03 | R102,016,595,20 | PowerBall |