From 1 June, Sizekhaya Holdings will officially take over operations of the National Lottery in partnership with the National Lotteries Commission for the next eight years.
As Sizekhaya prepares to take over the national lottery on 1 June 2026, it is bringing back live draws. This is a tradition that South Africans are familiar with.
With live draws premiering on 2 June, Sizekhaya currently has a competition for people to guess who the new presenters will be.
Bringing live draws back is about more than mere nostalgia. Sizekhaya Holdings CEO Lebo Ndadana says the decision was informed by the fact that live, televised draws create excitement, anticipation and a sense of shared national participation.
Ndadana shared: “We believe South Africans want to see and experience the lottery again in a more visible and engaging way. Bringing live draws back is part of restoring that excitement and reconnecting people with the experience.”
More changes to come your way
Sizekhaya plans to cascade their jackpots and disregard the rollover system. This means that if there are no winners in the first division, the same jackpot amount will be moved to winners in the second division. Should there be no winners in the second division as well, the main prize will shift to the lower divisions instead of being rolled over to the next draw date.
Head of Marketing, Khothatso Mashile, explained on 702 that PowerBall Plus will now be PowerBall Extra, and that is the main draw that will be cascaded.
“We have repositioned PowerBall, we separated it from the model that it is currently at.”
PowerBall tickets will now cost R10 while Lotto tickets remain at R5. Lotto numbers have also been reduced from 58 to 52 and 1 to 50 for PowerBall. This is an attempt to make it easier for players to have a higher chance of winning.
