By far the biggest type of betting in South Africa is the Powerball, a lottery with an uncapped reward waiting for any player who hits the fixed-odds chance of winning a huge reward. Over the years since its inception in 2009, the Powerball lotto game has brought excitement and thrills to millions of people in South Africa, all of them choosing this inexpensive form of entertainment with a chance to achieve a big win. The winning figure can be massive, on several occasions soaring past R100 million.
Below, we’ll explore the biggest Powerball winners that South Africa has seen, including the biggest winner in its history, who won a whopping R232 million.
Biggest Powerball winners in South Africa
R232,131,750 – 19 February 2019
The Powerball of 19 February 2019 drew the attention of millions across South Africa. The prize money had rolled over 24 times without a winner, increasing the total to an unprecedented amount. This huge reward led to a huge spike in lotto ticket sales nationwide as residents hoped to get a shot at this prize.
However, only one ticket hit the lucky numbers. A man from Cape Town, who chose to remain anonymous, won a record-setting R232,131,750 after purchasing a ticket for just R22.50 at an OK MiniMark in Tygerdal.
Despite winning this staggering prize money, the winner chose to keep working even though he was in his 50s. He advised that he plans to keep accumulating wealth and put the prize toward his children’s education and helping other family members.
R167,332,410 – 11 February 2022
After the jackpot spent the whole summer accumulating, February 2022 saw the second-highest Powerball win of all time. There’s not much information on this big winner, but officials revealed that the person purchased their ticket in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, and rather than picking their own numbers, they let the Quick Pick option fill the ticket for them.
R158,035,647 – 27 July 2021
The next big win set a record for the largest jackpot won by an online player. The woman from the North West won a huge sum of R158 million and change after snagging a ticket on the ABSA banking app. For only R15, she found herself with enough money to build her dream house, and reports that the win came at the perfect time after she lost her job the previous year.
R145,469,799 – 3 August 2018
An engineer in one of the biggest companies in Secunda had an interesting way to keep his winning ticket safe. This lucky player purchased his ticket at Evander Diensstasie in Evander, Mpumalanga and the 34-year old kept his ticket in his sock until he could check with the National Lottery to confirm his Powerball results.
He elected to invest his winnings in business so he could provide a brighter life for future generations of his family, citing how hard he struggled to gain his current employment.
R141,343,180 – 23 August 2019
A construction player hit a serendipitous win during a short break to Mossel Bay. Despite not being a regular player, his wife woke up one morning to tell him she dreamed he was sprinkled in gold dust. The man dashed to the nearest Spar in Groot Brakrivier to grab a Quick Pick ticket. Whether it was a real prophecy or a coincidence, her dream certainly did come true when he won the full R141 million prize money on offer at the time.
The couple are set to keep working and invest the money rather than living off it, following a typical path for South African Powerball winners to invest in financial security for future generations.
R135,366,753 – Tuesday 28 April 2020
The record for the largest online payout was first broken back in 2020 when a winner from KwaZulu-Natal used his FNB banking app to secure an R136 million prize. The prize had been rolling over since February, and the winner had taken current advice from the lottery to use an online app rather than purchase in-store.
He had to exercise some patience while waiting to claim the prize money as all National Lottery offices were closed at the time.
R121,730,295 – Tuesday 29 September 2020
Disbelief marked the success of the seventh-biggest Powerball winner of all time. The winner from Bloemfontein couldn’t believe his eyes and read the numbers “about 30 times” before convincing himself that he’d scored the R121 million prize money. He was overjoyed to have this new opportunity to take his retirement a few years early, and promised to donate some money to his church to do some good.
R114,580,902 – Tuesday 4 February 2020
For just R5, a Soweto woman won R114 million after betting on a whim at Victor & Son’s cafe, Roodepoort. The 35-year old woman was overjoyed to invest in a house for herself and another for her mother, putting her days of struggling with rent behind her.
