Unclaimed R2.28 million PowerBall ticket nears expiration
Given the ticket’s purchase location, the winner is believed to be from Gauteng. As such, residents of the province have been advised to search high and low for the missing ticket
South Africa.- Ithuba, the South African national lottery operator, is searching for the owner of an unclaimed PowerBall Plus ticket worth R2,284,810 (€113,619) purchased in Mayfield Square, Daveyton, Johannesburg. The company has urged Gauteng residents to double-check their tickets before the deadline.
The winning ticket was bought for the draw held on November 12, 2024 and is set to expire on November 12, 2025. If the prize remains unclaimed past the deadline, it will be forfeited and allocated to the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
Given the ticket’s purchase location, the winner is believed to be from Gauteng. As such, residents of the province have been advised to search high and low for the missing ticket. The announcement has ignited a lively debate on social media, with some users praying that the winner turns up, while others question the story’s validity, especially regarding the possibility of misplacing a ticket worth millions.
Some even speculate whether a winner exists at all, echoing previous controversies surrounding the transparency and fairness of Ithuba’s winner selection process. While Ithuba has since addressed the allegations, this development may reignite public scepticism about the lottery’s integrity.
In a show of transparency, the operator has increased its efforts to find the winner, encouraging players to review their paper tickets from November 2024.
The situation highlights the high reliance on paper lottery tickets in South Africa, particularly in communities where digital access is limited. This presents a challenge, as it can lead to winners being unaware of their prizes if they lose or misplace their tickets.
However, with digital options, they can easily track their tickets and even receive alerts when they’ve won a prize. As the clock ticks down, the fate of the R2.28 million prize hangs in the balance, but with almost 11 months already gone, there is little hope that the winner will be united with their winnings.
