Top 10 biggest PowerBall jackpots in SA lottery history

The PowerBall jackpot has consistently been the highest out of all the lottery options available since it launched in 2009.

As reported by SAPeople website, the PowerBall jackpot draw requires players to pick five numbers from 1 to 50 and one ‘PowerBall’ number from 1 to 20 for an entry fee of R5.00 per board.

Draws take place every Tuesday and Friday evenings around 20:58 (SA time).

Those looking to get rich quick can consider playing in Friday, 5 April’s PowerBall draw which stands at an estimated R131 million.

That represents the SEVENTH highest total in PowerBall history.

Interestingly, of the top 10 biggest wins in PowerBall history, seven have taken place on a Tuesday and three on a Friday.

February remains the month in which the most jackpots are won – with three in the Top 10 – including the two biggest of all time.

The last time a jackpot made it into the Top 10 was over two years ago when a lucky player in Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal won R167 332 410 on Friday, 11 February 2022.

TOP 10 POWERBALL JACKPOTS OF ALL TIME

1. R232 131 750 – TUESDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2019

The current record for a PowerBall jackpot win was set by a man from Cape Town, following 24 consecutive rollovers.

The top prize had leapt up by R20 million from the previous draw and players across South Africa rushed to take part, but there was only one ticket that matched all the numbers.

The winner made excited fans wait for a week before coming forward to claim his money.

He decided to remain anonymous but did reveal that he would carry on working, despite being in his 50s and suddenly one of the wealthiest people in the country.

He spent just R22.50 on his tickets at an OK Mini Mart in Tygerdal.

2. R167 332 410 – FRIDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2022

The jackpot embarked on a summer-long climb from the middle of November until it was finally won again, and in the process it became the second-largest to have ever been seen on PowerBall at the time.

The winning ticket was sold in Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal.

The lucky player purchased their ticket for R150 and played a Quick Pick rather than choosing their own.

3. R158 035 647 – TUESDAY, 27 JULY 2021

A woman from the North West landed the biggest jackpot ever won by an online player in South Africa when she matched all the numbers.

She had played using the ABA banking app, spending just R15 on her ticket and picking her regular numbers.

It came at the perfect time as she had lost her job the previous year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said she had always wanted to go for a family vacation to the seaside so would start with a trip to Durban.

The winner also revealed that part of the money would go towards building and furnishing a new home so she could have everything she had dreamt of as a little girl.

4. R145 469 799 – FRIDAY, 3 AUGUST 2018

Following almost two months without a winner, a single ticket holder became one of South Africa’s luckiest ever players thanks to an entry he purchased at Evander Diensstasie in Evander, Mpumalanga.

The winner, a 34-year-old who had been born and raised in Ekurhuleni, selected his own numbers.

Upon discovering that he had matched all the numbers, he kept his ticket safe in his sock until he could confirm the win with the National Lottery.

He said he would invest his winnings in business and focus on helping future generations of his family, having struggled to find employment himself before he became an engineer for one of the biggest companies in Secunda.

5. R141 343 180 – FRIDAY, 23 AUGUST 2019

A construction worker enjoyed a more profitable holiday than he could ever have imagined after buying a PowerBall ticket during a short break in Mossel Bay.

He was not a regular player but felt inspired to take part after his wife had a dream in which he was sprinkled with gold dust.

As they were on holiday, he thought it could be his lucky day so he played a Quick Pick at a Spar in Groot Brakrivier in the Western Cape.

They both insisted that they would continue working and invest the money so that their children’s and grandchildren’s futures would be financially secure.

6. R135 366 753 – TUESDAY, 28 APRIL 2020

This huge jackpot set a new record for the largest lottery payout for an online player in South Africa.

The top prize had been growing steadily since early February and, with the world in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, players were urged to take part online instead of visiting stores.

It was someone from the KwaZulu-Natal province who eventually landed the R135 million jackpot after using the FNB banking app.

They then had to be patient to receive their prize as National lottery offices were closed at the time due to Covid-19 restrictions.

7. R121 730 295 – TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2020

A man from Bloemfontein revealed that he checked his ticket ‘about 30 times’ before he started to believe that his numbers had come up in the R121 million draw on 29 September.

He had purchased his entry at Belvera Supermarket in Bloemspruit, using some of his winnings from a previous game of Daily Lotto.

He said he would give up work straight away so that he could take retirement a few years ahead of schedule, but he still wanted to put the money to good use and would donate some to his church.

8. R114 580 902 – TUESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2020

The PowerBall jackpot had proved to be just out of reach during the early part of the summer, but a 35-year-old woman from Soweto stopped the run of rollovers in its tracks to land a prize worth more than R114 million.

She had bought just one line at a cost of R5, putting faith in her favourite numbers, when she bought her ticket from Victor and Son’s Café in Roodepoort in western Johannesburg.

Having previously struggled to pay the rent where she lived, she set her sights on buying a house for herself and also one for her mother.

9. R114 242 816 – TUESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2019

The R114 million jackpot from this draw went to an unemployed father of two from Limpopo, who bought his winning ticket from the Sharp Supermarket in Dzanani, near Makhado.

He wasted little time in coming forward, contacting the National Lottery two days later, although he said he had not slept at all in that time.

He planned to use his newfound wealth to create a better life for his family, build a new house for his mother and also provide for his children and siblings.

10. 113 769 364 – TUESDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2020

There were 20 winners of the jackpot in this incredible draw, which featured a set of results which generated attention all over the world.

The winning numbers were 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and the PowerBall was 10.

All 20 winners had come forward by early February 2021, pocketing more than R5.6 million each.

The jackpot had previously gone 17 draws in a row without being won, but playing familiar patterns is such a popular way of taking part that this draw produced an unusually high number of winners.