SA Lottery's New Era: What Changes Under Sizekhaya from June 2026
From 1 June 2026, Sizekhaya Holdings takes over the SA National Lottery. Here's what changes — including better jackpot odds on Lotto and PowerBall, new games, and the return of live TV draws.
Today, 1 June 2026, marks the end of an era for South Africa's National Lottery. After more than a decade, ITHUBA Holdings hands over the operating licence to Sizekhaya Holdings — and with the handover comes a set of rule changes that every SA lottery player should know about.
The headline? Jackpot odds on both Lotto and PowerBall just got meaningfully better.
Lotto reverts to 6 from 52 — jackpot odds cut in half
In September 2025, ITHUBA expanded the Lotto ball pool from 52 to 58 balls. That single change nearly doubled the jackpot odds from 1 in 20,358,520 to 1 in 40,475,358 — making the jackpot significantly harder to win and causing longer rollover streaks.
Sizekhaya is reversing that change. As of today, Lotto — and Lotto Plus 1 and Plus 2 — returns to the classic 6 from 52 format.
| Old (ITHUBA, Sept 2025–May 2026) | New (Sizekhaya, June 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ball pool | 6 from 58 | 6 from 52 |
| Jackpot odds | 1 in 40,475,358 | 1 in 20,358,520 |
| Odds improvement | — | ~2× better |
This is unambiguously good news for players. Your chance of winning the Lotto jackpot is now roughly twice what it was for the last nine months. Jackpots will also reach must-be-won thresholds faster, meaning shorter drought periods.
PowerBall pool reduces from 20 to 16
PowerBall's main draw format remains unchanged: 5 balls from 50. But the PowerBall itself — the bonus ball that determines the jackpot — now comes from a pool of 1 to 16, down from 1 to 20.
| Old (ITHUBA) | New (Sizekhaya) | |
|---|---|---|
| PowerBall pool | 1–20 | 1–16 |
| Jackpot odds | 1 in 42,375,200 | 1 in 33,900,160 |
| Odds improvement | — | ~20% better |
A smaller PowerBall pool means jackpots will be claimed more frequently — shorter average rollover streaks compared to the ITHUBA era, and a jackpot that's about 20% easier to hit.
New games and add-ons
Sizekhaya is also introducing several new products alongside the existing games:
- Lotto 5 Max — a R2.50 add-on to your standard Lotto ticket
- PowerBall Xtra — a R5 add-on to your PowerBall ticket
- Daily Lotto Plus — an add-on to the Daily Lotto draw, already in play since September 2025
- Scratch cards — instant-win tickets, reintroduced for the first time in years
We'll add coverage for the new game variants as draw data becomes available.
Live TV draws return
One of the most notable changes under Sizekhaya is the return of live televised draws. Under ITHUBA, draws were computerised with no live broadcast. Sizekhaya has committed to bringing back the physical ball-draw machines on TV — something many SA lottery players have missed for years.
What stays the same
- Lotto draws: Wednesday and Saturday at 21:00 SAST
- PowerBall draws: Tuesday and Friday at 21:00 SAST
- Daily Lotto: Monday to Friday at 21:00 SAST
- Lotto ticket price: R5 per board
- PowerBall ticket price: R5 per board
- Daily Lotto ticket price: R3 per board
A note on our data and sync
Our historical dataset covers draws from October 2023 through to the last ITHUBA-operated draw on 31 May 2026 — over 700 draws across all games. All historical statistics on this site remain accurate and reflect the draw results as they happened.
Sizekhaya is running on an entirely new technology platform. We're working on integrating with their new data source so that results from 1 June 2026 onwards will appear here automatically. In the meantime, all stats, frequency charts, hot and cold numbers, and the number generator continue to work from our complete historical dataset.
Use our statistics-informed number generator to build your next set. Free, no sign-up required.
Generate Numbers →SALottoStats is not affiliated with ITHUBA Holdings, Sizekhaya Holdings, or the National Lotteries Commission. All content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Lottery draws are independent random events — nothing on this site constitutes gambling advice.