Lotteries have multiple prize tiers that make it worth trying your luck. But of course, you get the adrenaline rush at the thought of taking home the big prize. To help you see what’s possible when playing South African lottery games, we share the biggest lottery winners in SA to date.
Top 10 Biggest Lottery Winners
Have a look at our quick reference table of the biggest winners in South African lottery history. Perhaps it inspires you to take a chance on a local game or an international one like Eurojackpot that can have even higher payouts.
| Amount | Year | Lottery | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZAR232,131,750 | 2019 | Powerball | Cape Town |
| 2 | ZAR167,332,410 | 2022 | Powerball | KwaZulu-Natal |
| 3 | ZAR158,035,647 | 2021 | Powerball | North West |
| 4 | ZAR153,466,150 | 2020 | Powerball Plus | KwaZulu-Natal |
| 5 | ZAR145,469,799 | 2018 | Powerball | Mpumalanga |
| 6 | ZAR141,343,180 | 2019 | Powerball | Western Cape |
| 7 | ZAR135,366,753 | 2020 | Powerball | KwaZulu-Natal |
| 8 | ZAR135,000,000 | 2022 | Powerball | Johannesburg |
| 9 | ZAR126,589,752 | 2022 | Powerball | Johannesburg |
| 10 | ZAR121,730,295 | 2020 | Powerball | Bloemfontein |
Last Update: October 2023
Biggest Lottery Winners in South Africa - 10 Winners’ Stories
The list above proves it’s worth taking a chance on South African lotteries, as some of the jackpots grow to be quite substantial. It’s even worth learning how to play Powerball Plus or how to play Lotto Plus 1. Although these game extensions often have smaller jackpots, there have been occasions where the main prizes have grown and made some players very rich.
Here’s the details on the biggest lottery winners of all time in SA.
1. ZAR232 million – Powerball
This may be a South African record that will take a while before it’s broken, because SA jackpots don’t always take so long before they’re won by a lucky ticket holder. In this case, there were 24 draws with no main prize winner and then on 19 February 2019, it was finally won!
One aspect that helped the jackpot grow to such a massive amount was that the prize money was so attractive! This probably prompted more people to play Powerball that last week. As a result, in the days from the draw on the Friday to that Tuesday’s draw, the jackpot grew by almost ZAR20 million!
The rise in ticket sales helped the prize pool grow as well, so the lucky winner from Cape Town got the biggest lottery prize in South African history.
The winner was a man in his 50s and as News24 mentioned, he bought the ticket at OK Mini Mart in Tygerdal. Perhaps the shock of winning was a bit much, because he took a full week before claiming his prize. Or, perhaps he spent the time getting financial advice and researching SA lottery tax laws to be best prepared.
No matter who he spoke to, it seemed he knew how to spend the money wisely, as he reportedly didn’t plan on retiring yet, despite winning so much cash. He did want to help his family, such as paying for his children’s education.
2. ZAR167 million – Powerball
For this massive jackpot prize to grow, players waited through most of the South African summer in 2021/2022. And then, at last, there was a winner on 11 February 2022.
As confirmed by Briefly, the second biggest lottery winner in South Africa came from the coastal town Ballito, in KwaZulu-Natal. In February 2022 he invested ZAR150 in lottery tickets and used the convenient Quick Pick option to select his numbers. Luck was on his side and one of those helped him walk away as the big winner.
The lucky ticket holder loves relaxing activities like walking on the beach or spending a day on the golf course. Such a huge amount of money will surely help him relax even more, as he probably won’t have financial troubles in the future again.
This individual had various plans to make his money work for him. In a wise move he opted to settle his debt and he wanted to invest some of it too. However, there would have been some charity organisation or two that would have received a donation from him as well.
It’s great to see lottery winners give back to their communities, as helping the less fortunate is the motivation behind many lottery operators’ activities.
3. ZAR158 million – Powerball
At the time, this female jackpot winner was quite unique in how she ended up bagging the big prize. She is an excellent example of the value of using technology, such as lottery sites and apps, to play the lottery with convenience and still win big!
The lady was from North West Province and she played via her ABSA banking app that allows you to play most popular South African lotteries, including Powerball and Daily Lotto. Times Live reported that an investment of just ZAR15 got her the main prize of ZAR158,035,647.
The winner’s story is also an example of how one prize can mean many different things to a winner. Apart from helping her become more financially stable after losing her job in 2020, she was also able to spoil her family with a seaside holiday in Durban.
As is the case with many SA winners, she also opted to build and furnish a new house.
4. R153,466,150 – Powerball Plus
This win is one of the few times that add-on games like Powerball Plus and Lotto Plus 2 offered immense jackpot prizes that matched those of Lotto and SA Powerball. After weeks of rollovers, in July 2020, the prize money of over ZAR153 million was won at last and the story proves anyone can strike it lucky.
According to Times Live, the winner of this massive jackpot wasn’t even a regular lottery player and only tried it after family members prompted him to give it a try. Using his Standard Bank app, he selected the Quick Pick option and applied settings to play 10 consecutive draws at a cost of ZAR300. This is a feature on many online platforms.
At the third draw, he struck gold!
As you’ll see with many South African lottery winners, despite the financial freedom brought by a jackpot win, they intended to keep working their regular jobs. They were simply thankful that they could retire whenever it suited them and they were free of financial pressures.
5. ZAR145,469,799 – Powerball
For this win, SA lottery players had to wait through two months’ draws before there was finally another main prize winner. The winner was 33 years old and originated from Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, although the winning ticket was purchased at a fuel station in Evander in Mpumalanga province. For this specific ticket, the winner chose his own set of numbers. He had used them in the past as well, and this time it brought him a win.
As you can see in this eNCA video, he took a few days before coming forward. The winner, an engineer working in Secunda, knew about expert tips like keeping lottery tickets safe and for him the most secure place was inside his sock! He kept it hidden there until he could make contact with the National Lottery and confirm he was the winner.
Once again, the money was a means to achieve various goals in life. He had financial freedom for himself and was also planning on investing the money in business. Because he had faced hardships in his own life, he also wanted to help others in his family.
6. ZAR141,343,180 – Powerball
This win in 2019 shows that it’s worth taking a chance on lotteries now and then, even if you’re note a regular Lotto or Mega Millions player. The winner who bought his ticket at a Spar in Groot Brakrivier in the Western Cape simply took a chance while he was on holiday in the area. He used the Quick Pick option to select his numbers.
His story may also inspire others to look for signs or trust your horoscope to play a game at the right time. Part of his motivation was a dream his wife had, as mentioned by IOL. Listening to their intuition paid off, because the couple could gain financial security for their family.
To ensure they make the most of their win they also intended to keep working at the time.
7. ZAR135,366,753 – Powerball
Thanks to apps, operator websites and services like online lottery sites, people around the globe can still play the lottery, even if they can’t leave their homes. This technological approach to playing lotteries became valuable during the pandemic in 2020, because players couldn’t leave their homes to buy physical tickets, but they could still take part online. That meant the Powerball jackpot grew despite lockdown rules!
On 28 April 2020 an individual in KwaZulu-Natal won a huge jackpot after entering via his FNB app. The only downside, as noted by EWN, was that the winner had to wait a while before receiving the prize money. Because rules state that winners must visit lottery offices, they could only make the official claim after the government lifted the Covid-19 lockdown rules.
8. ZAR135 million – Powerball
This winner was from Rosettenville, Johannesburg and although his name isn’t known, IOL said he was a pensioner at the time of winning. We’re sure that such a windfall would have made quite a difference to his retirement plans!
Excitement at the magnitude of the win definitely affected this winner’s emotions. When he realised he had won, all he could keep on screaming over and over, was ‘I got it!’.
9. ZAR126 million – Powerball
Winning over ZAR126 million, we have a winner from Florida in the Johannesburg area. This was a lottery winner with a very practical approach. Rather than spending the money on frivolities, her major focus was investing in property and buying a house.
The win is also an example of the value of increasing your chances by playing more. As reported by Sowetan Live, she bought four tickets for this specific draw and one of them got him the jackpot.
10. ZAR121,730,295 – Powerball
Our 10th winner proved that it’s wise to try your hand at multiple lotteries! On 29 September 2020, a player from Bloemfontein bought a Powerball ticket using money he won by playing Daily Lotto. News24 reported that he bought the ticket in Bloemspruit, at the Belvera Supermarket and it ended up being the right set of numbers to win him over ZAR120 million.
For this Powerball player the financial freedom the prize money gave him enabled him to retire earlier than he planned to. In addition, he planned to donate some of it to a church.
Final Words
South Africa’s lottery history has many more stories of lottery success, with a recent one being the win of over ZAR128 million in October 2023. This time however, as reported by The South African, there were two lucky ticket holders, resulting in each receiving ZAR64,460,746.18. That is still life-changing!
And remember, there’s always the chance that the story of your major win will one day feature on a list like this. After all, while lottery strategies make playing more interesting and could perhaps help you identify the winning numbers for EuroMillions, Lotto or another lottery from around the globe, luck is key. Because of the random aspect of the games, it can happen to anyone!
And remember, thanks to lottery sites like theLotter, you have the convenience of playing any time, anywhere. Just make sure your ticket is bought before cut off time!
Source: theLotter
FAQ
Daily lotteries like South Africa’s Daily Lotto have winners on a daily basis. The prize money isn’t as much as other lotteries such as Lotto though. In South Africa, Powerball has the most jackpot winners featuring on the list of the biggest lottery winners in the country.
South Africa’s Powerball lottery has paid out the biggest jackpot in the country’s lottery history. It was prize money of ZAR232,131,750 and it was won in February 2019 by a single ticket holder.
The SA Powerball pays out the most money, thanks to it being the most popular game in the country. With it having such high ticket sales on a weekly basis, it helps to create a huge prize pool that results in big prizes for seven of the nine prize tiers.
Yes, you have a chance of winning big lottery prizes when playing via your banking app. Most South African banks offer the convenience of buying tickets via their apps and some of the top jackpot winners have reported using this feature to buy tickets.
The luckiest numbers to play will always depend on which South African lottery you’re playing. For Lotto, the list of lucky numbers that could help you strike it lucky include 2, 16 and 30. For Powerball you can try your luck with 3,15 and 31.
You have the best chance of winning lotteries with favourable odds. In South Africa, a lottery with great odds for players is the Daily Lotto. You have a one in only 376,992 chance of getting the main prize.
Most South African jackpot winners prefer staying anonymous after they win a jackpot, so very few winners’ names are ever made public. They can stay anonymous thanks to the Data Protection Act and winners opt for this since it’s one way to protect themselves against crime such as extortion. It also prevents them from having to deal with unwanted attention from the media and even family members that may start asking for money.
Many big lottery winners in South Africa have mentioned that they used the Quick Pick option to select their numbers. They use it in stores, but also on banking apps and when playing online.
You must be at least 18 years old to play the lottery in South Africa and this is the age of the youngest Lotto winner. As reported by The Nation, in 2003 a couple, one 18 years of age and the other 20 years old, purchased a Lotto ticket and won over ZAR6 million.
Another big Lotto winner was a 22-year old who won over ZAR5.6 million in 2023 and there has been a 21-year-old who was a Daily Lotto winner in July 2019.
Unfortunately, data shows that about 70% of lottery jackpot winners are broke within years of striking it lucky. Also, around 33% have to declare bankruptcy, even within just five years of the big win. The reasons for this include bad investments and unwise or reckless spending.
DailyLotto is ZAR 300,000 on