TLDR South Africa’s lottery operator Sizekhaya says more than R120 million ($7.5 million) in Lotto and PowerBall prizes remains unclaimed. Winners have 365 days to claim prizes before the money moves to the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund. Many tickets were bought through banking apps, so winners may already have alerts waiting in their messages. A R93.5 million PowerBall jackpot from a ticket bought in Molapo, Soweto, has not been claimed. A separate R23 million prize from a ticket bought through an Absa banking app on June 13 is also still unclaimed.
South Africa’s lottery operator, Sizekhaya, is asking players to check their phones and banking apps after learning that more than R120 million in Lotto and PowerBall prizes has gone unclaimed.
The company made the appeal after reviewing outstanding winnings across its games. Officials say the total includes both small prizes and some of the largest jackpots on record.
Many of the unclaimed tickets were bought through banking apps. That means some winners may already have text messages or app alerts sitting unread on their phones.
How Winners Are Notified
Sizekhaya Chief Operating Officer Fundi Sithebe spoke about the issue on Radio 702 last Thursday. He explained that smaller prizes are paid out automatically when a ticket is bought through a banking app.
Larger prizes work differently. Sithebe said banks contact winners directly through calls, SMS messages, or WhatsApp.
“Your bank will call you or send you notifications to say you are a high-tier winner,” Sithebe said. He added that these messages are not spam. “Sometimes it’s actually not spam. It’s the real deal.”
Sithebe said some players ignore these messages because they assume it’s a scam. Others simply forget to check their numbers as daily life gets busy.
“We’re begging people, please come get the