PowerBall pain: South Africans now pay DOUBLE to play popular game
· The South African
South Africans chasing a lottery win are now paying more for the privilege – and PowerBall players are bearing the sharpest increase.
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With Sizekhaya Holdings officially taking over the national lottery on 1 June 2026, several changes have come into effect across popular games, including Lotto, Daily Lotto and PowerBall.
Although the overhaul includes tweaks aimed at improving winning odds, the most immediate difference for players is simple: it now costs more to enter.
PowerBall prices double in South Africa
The biggest shift comes from PowerBall, where the price of a ticket has risen from R5 to R10.
That effectively doubles the cost of entry in one of the country’s most popular draw games.
Players who add PowerBall Xtra, previously known as PowerBall Plus, now pay an additional R5, bringing the combined cost of both entries to R15 per entry.
To make matters worse, to play PowerBall on a South African banking app, you must buy a minimum of two boards per ticket, effectively doubling your single play to R30 for those two boards.
Under the previous system run by ITHUBA Holdings, the same combination cost R7.50.
For occasional players, the difference might feel minor. But for regular entrants, the impact stacks up quickly.
Someone playing both PowerBall and PowerBall Xtra twice a week would have spent around R15 weekly before. That figure has now doubled to R30.
Other lottery games also affected
And PowerBall isn’t the only game with a higher price tag.
Lotto entries have increased to R5 per play, while additional options like Lotto Plus 1 and the new “5 Max” game come with extra charges depending on selection.
Even Daily Lotto, often seen as the most affordable option, has risen to R3 per ticket.
While it remains the lowest-cost entry point into the national lottery system, it forms part of a wider pricing adjustment across all major games.