South Africa's Biggest PowerBall Jackpot Winners

PowerBall has established itself as South Africa's biggest jackpot game since it was launched in 2009, regularly offering prizes of more than R100 million. Learn the stories behind the PowerBall winners who landed the 10 biggest jackpots, along with the top winners from PowerBall Plus.

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 of South Africa 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. R135,000,000 – Friday 25 November 2022

This draw was given a Guaranteed Jackpot of R135 million, following two and a half months without a winner. A single ticket matched all the numbers, and the winner came forward shortly afterwards to claim prize.

Having spent 40 years working in the construction industry, the winner - a pensioner from Rosettenville, Johannesburg - put his good fortune down to his faith in God. He said: “I was so excited when I found that I won, I kept on screaming, 'I got it, I got it!'. I have decided I am going to buy a new house for my family. Winning this amount is going to change our lives in a very big way.”

8. R134,286,457 - Friday 5 April 2024

There were three big winners of this jackpot, so each share was worth R44.7 million. All three tickets were sold through banking platforms, and National Lottery bosses hailed ‘an exceptional outcome that touched lives across the nation’s diverse spectrum’.

Two of the winners, both men, insisted that they would carry on working despite their newfound wealth. One of them added that he would give a lot to charity, including his church, while he would also renovate his house. The other winner was a woman who had played the same numbers for eight years before her big win.

9. R128,921,492 - Tuesday 17 October 2023

It took 10 weeks for this jackpot to accumulate, only for two lucky ticket holders to match all the numbers and win R64 million each. The first to claim was a woman who had used the Absa banking app. She said she planned to buy her dream home and would then be donating money to charitable organisations.

A man from Rustenburg came forward to claim the other half of the prize, having also purchased a ticket via a banking app. He used the FNB app and declared that he would use some of his winnings as capital to start his own business.

10. 126,589,752 - Friday 20 May 2022

This big jackpot was claimed by a woman from Florida in Johannesburg, who vowed to use her newfound wealth sensibly. She said: “We plan to keep a very low profile, with our feet on the ground. My partner and I are very conservative people, we are not splashy big spenders, so there will be no Ferraris.”

She added that she would invest in property, travel the world and support a charitable NGO. The jackpot had previously not been won since March.

1. R153,466,150 - Friday 10 July 2020

A man from KwaZulu-Natal set a couple of records without even visiting a store to buy a ticket. Instead, he played via the Standard Bank app and became the biggest PowerBall Plus winner of all time - as well as the biggest online winner ever. It was the first time the PowerBall Plus jackpot had ever gone past R150 million, having rolled over for more than six months.

The winner revealed that he wasn’t even a regular player, but that his in-laws kept track of all the big jackpots and urged him to play. He said he was a financially cautious person but that the windfall had set the family up for life, so they would not have to worry about money ever again.

2. R83,853,069 - Friday 23 April 2019

It took almost three months to create this big PowerBall Plus jackpot, which was eventually won by a player from Cape Town. The winning ticket was purchased at Checkers, Durbanville. The participant selected their own numbers rather than going for a Quick Pick, and spent R45 on entering the game. No more information was disclosed about the winner.

3. R81,942,756 - Tuesday 27 October 2020

The third biggest PowerBall Plus jackpot winner ever bought their ticket in Eastern Cape for the draw on 27 October 2020. No details have yet been released about the winner, except that the ticket bought was a Manual Selection R15 wager and was purchased at Spar Fleet in Quigney, East London.

4. R70,873,741 - Tuesday 3 September 2019

A woman from Pretoria who whispered a quiet prayer when she bought a ticket from a Shell Garage went on to land one of the biggest PowerBall Plus prizes in history. She said she ‘always asked God to bless her numbers’ and on this occasion she kept the ticket safe in a Bible the night before the draw.

She had selected her own numbers for a change, rather than opting for a Quick Pick, and could not believe it when they all appeared in the draw. The winner said she would use the money to transform her current home while also providing for her wider family.

5. R58,740,409 - Tuesday 18 April 2017

The PowerBall Plus jackpot first climbed above R50 million around 18 months after the supplementary game was launched. Following 23 rollovers in a row, a single ticket sold at De Franca Spar in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, matched all the numbers.

The winner, who wagered R30 on their tickets, claimed the money a week later. Remarkably, it was the second big payout for a resident of Ladysmith in the space of three months.