PowerBall is one of the most popular lottery games in South Africa. It offers large jackpot prizes that can reach over 100 million rand. With the potential to win big, many South Africans are eager to play PowerBall and try their luck. But when exactly are the PowerBall drawings held? Knowing the PowerBall schedule is key for players who want to participate.
PowerBall Draw Days
PowerBall drawings take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Tuesday drawings are held at 9:00 PM South Africa Standard Time. The Friday drawings take place at the same time, 9:00 PM.
So in summary, the PowerBall draw days in South Africa are:
Tuesdays at 9:00 PM
Fridays at 9:00 PM
These are the only two days of the week when PowerBall numbers are drawn. There are no PowerBall drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, or Sundays in South Africa.
How to Play on Draw Days
To play PowerBall on Tuesdays and Fridays when the drawings occur, you must purchase your ticket by a specific cutoff time.
For Tuesday draws, ticket sales close at 8:30 PM on the Tuesday night. You must buy your PowerBall ticket by 8:30 PM to be eligible for that evening’s drawing at 9:00 PM.
For Friday draws, ticket sales also close at 8:30 PM. To play on Fridays, you must purchase your PowerBall ticket by 8:30 PM for the 9:00 PM drawing.
The Ithuba National Lottery which operates PowerBall does not allow ticket sales after these 8:30 PM cutoffs on Tuesdays and Fridays. Make sure to buy your tickets well before the deadlines on draw days.
Can You Play Other Days?
While the PowerBall drawings only happen on Tuesdays and Fridays, you can still purchase PowerBall tickets on other days of the week.
PowerBall ticket sales are open every day from 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM, except when the Ithuba offices are closed. So you can buy tickets in advance for upcoming draws even on non-draw days.
For example, if you want to play PowerBall on Friday but don’t have time on Friday, you could purchase your ticket anytime between 6:00 AM Monday morning and 8:30 PM Friday evening. The ticket will still be valid for the Friday night drawing as long as you bought it before the cutoff.
So while you can only win prizes on Tuesdays and Fridays, you have flexibility in when you can actually buy PowerBall tickets. Just make sure to buy before the deadlines on draw days.
Why Tuesdays and Fridays Were Chosen
With many other lotteries around the world, the draw days often fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays. So why does PowerBall buck the trend with its Tuesday and Friday drawings?
The lottery organizers chose those days to make PowerBall more convenient for players in South Africa. Fridays are paydays for many workers across the country. By having a draw on Fridays, more people can use some of their new income to buy PowerBall tickets.
And Tuesdays allow players to get in on the action early in the work week. Tuesdays also avoid conflicts with other popular Wednesday lotteries in South Africa.
Having two draws per week enables bigger, faster-growing jackpots. With more players participating thanks to the well-chosen draw days, the prizes climbs higher.
Changes to the PowerBall Schedule
While Tuesdays and Fridays are the regular PowerBall draw days, there are occasional changes made to the schedule. These are often to accommodate public holidays.
For example, if a Tuesday or Friday draw day falls on a public holiday, it will be moved to the next available day. So a Friday drawing might get pushed to a Saturday if Friday is a holiday.
Players should be aware of these schedule changes around public holidays and make sure to check the updated PowerBall timetable. The official Ithuba website will have any modified drawing dates and times.
Major national holidays that can prompt PowerBall schedule changes include:
New Year’s Day (January 1)
Human Rights Day (March 21)
Good Friday
Family Day (Monday after Easter)
Freedom Day (April 27)
Workers Day (May 1)
Youth Day (June 16)
National Women’s Day (August 9)
Heritage Day (September 24)
Day of Reconciliation (December 16)
Christmas Day (December 25)
Day of Goodwill (December 26)
Check for any PowerBall schedule changes around these dates. Draws will be rescheduled if they conflict with the public holidays.
Record Your PowerBall Tickets
With drawings held strictly on Tuesdays and Fridays, it’s important to record your PowerBall ticket purchases. This ensures you don’t miss a draw you intended to play.
After buying your ticket, take note of the exact draw date you are entered into. You can also use the National Lottery mobile app to scan and store your PowerBall tickets. This will provide a record and remind you of upcoming draws.
It’s easy to lose paper tickets, so digital copies are extremely helpful. You don’t want to misplace a potential winning PowerBall ticket in between draws.
Check Results on Non-Draw Days
To find out the latest winning PowerBall numbers, you don’t have to wait for a Tuesday or Friday draw day.
Results are available on the Ithuba National Lottery website and mobile app as soon as they are announced. You can check to see if you have a winning ticket on any day of the week.
Jackpot amounts and other statistics are also updated daily. So even on non-draw days like Mondays, you can follow the size of the growing prize pool.
Monitoring the game info throughout the week is a good way to get excited about the next drawings on Tuesday and Friday!
Buying Group Tickets
When playing PowerBall, you can purchase single tickets just for yourself. But you also have the option to buy group tickets and share the potential prizes.
Group tickets allow you to split the costs of multiple games across a syndicate of players. Up to 10 people can get in on a group PowerBall ticket.
The great thing about group tickets is they can be purchased on any day of the week. You don’t have to wait for an upcoming draw day. Coordinate with your group members and buy your syndicate tickets whenever it is convenient.
Even on weekends or holidays when there are no drawings, group tickets can be arranged for future PowerBall dates. This scheduling flexibility makes joining a group an appealing way to play.
Winning on Non-Draw Days
While the big PowerBall jackpot can only be won on Tuesdays and Fridays, you can still win smaller prizes on other days.
PowerBall has a daily raffle called PowerBall PLUS that awards cash prizes. Tickets for the raffle can be bought every day, even when PowerBall is not being drawn.
The raffle drawings are held in the evenings at 9:00 PM every night. As long as you buy a PowerBall PLUS ticket that same day, you can win guaranteed cash prizes outside the main Tuesday and Friday lotteries.
So don’t think you can’t win money on the other five days of the week. PowerBall PLUS gives you the chance for daily prizes in between the major jackpot drawings.
Days to Avoid Playing
With the set PowerBall schedule, are there any days you should avoid playing?
The one day it does not make sense to play is Monday. There is no drawing on Mondays, so any ticket bought that day would have to wait until the Tuesday night draw.
You’re better off waiting until Tuesday to make your purchases, as you will miss out on a full week of potential prize growth by playing on Mondays. The jackpot won’t have as much time to increase before the drawing.
All other days are fine for buying tickets, whether they are draw days or not. Just be aware of Mondays being the one weekday it is not optimal to participate.
TV Broadcasts of Drawings
On top of the live streams available on the National Lottery website, the PowerBall drawings are also televised twice a week.
The Tuesday night drawings are broadcast on SABC 2 at 9:00 PM. Friday’s drawing is simulcast on both SABC 1 and Mzansi Magic at 9:00 PM.
So if you want to watch the PowerBall results come in live, be sure to tune in to the right channel on Tuesdays and Fridays. The dramatic live reveal of the winning numbers is must-see entertainment!
Even if you didn’t play, you can follow along and see if anyone hit the massive jackpots. South Africans across the country eagerly watch the TV broadcasts to find out the fate of the biggest prize pools.
Can You Buy Tickets on TV Draw Days?
An important note regarding television broadcasts of the PowerBall drawings: you cannot buy PowerBall tickets during the live TV shows.
Ticket sales shut down at 8:30 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays before the 9:00 PM televised lotteries. So don’t wait until you are watching the shows to try and purchase a ticket. You will be too late.
Make sure to get your PowerBall tickets well ahead of the cut-off times on draw nights. Rushing to buy a ticket while the TV broadcast is happening will result in disappointment when you can’t play.
Plan ahead and buy your tickets early to ensure you don’t miss out on the big jackpots. Just because the drawings are on TV doesn’t mean you can buy tickets during the shows. Cut-off times still apply.
Jackpot Tracking
Part of the fun of playing PowerBall is watching the jackpot grow over time if there is no winner. The top prize can roll over for weeks or even months, ballooning to huge amounts.
To follow the upward progression of the jackpot between drawings, pay attention to the estimated jackpots listed each day. These amounts are updated daily on the PowerBall website based on ticket sales.
You’ll see the advertised estimated jackpot increase in the days leading up to a draw as more people play. This creates excitement and lotto fever! Eventually a winner will hit the jackpot and reset it to a new starting amount.
By tracking the jackpots regularly, even on non-draw days, you can predict when the top prize will be especially massive. Playing when the jackpot is maximized can really pay off!
Search Past Winning Numbers
Want to look up the winning PowerBall numbers from previous drawings? You can search through the historical results on any day of the week.
The lottery’s website has an archive of winning number combinations going back years. Look up any past Tuesday or Friday drawing that interests you.
You can analyze the frequency of certain numbers, check jackpot amounts, and research other stats. Some players use these past results to influence their number selections.
Whether you believe studying the history helps your chances or not, the data is available every day in the results archives. Use your off-draw days to look back at previous winning combinations.
Find Lucky Retailers
Certain authorized retailers tend to sell more winning PowerBall tickets than others over time. These stores become known as “lucky” vendors.
Some players seek out these retailers when purchasing tickets, hoping some of the luck will rub off. You can identify the currently luckiest vendors on non-draw days.
Ithuba publishes a list of top retailers by area with the most prizes awarded to customers. Even if there is no upcoming drawing, take note of the retailers in your region for a potential edge.
This way when Tuesday or Friday roll around, you’ll know which local retailers have been luckiest lately. Consider buying your tickets there to take advantage!
Understand Your Odds
The odds of winning PowerBall are the same on every draw day. But when there is no drawing, you have time to study the probability and math.
The overall odds are about 1 in 42 million. But this varies widely across the different prize tiers. Your chances decrease dramatically as the prizes get larger.
For the PowerBall jackpot your odds are 1 in 42,938,816. But for smaller prizes like matching just the PowerBall number they are a much more likely 1 in 54.
Spend some time on non-draw days getting a full understanding of the odds. This will manage your expectations and demonstrate just how challenging it is to hit the jackpot.
Research Previous Jackpot Winners
Over the years there have been many memorable PowerBall jackpot winners across South Africa. When you aren’t waiting for the latest drawing, research these past winners more closely.
PowerBall has made dozens of individuals millionaires overnight. Read about who won, where they were from, their reaction to winning, and what they did with the life-changing prize money.
Hearing these heart-warming tales of past jackpot winners will keep you motivated to play PowerBall. You’ll dream about potential ways to spend your own big win one day!
Follow Jackpot News
Media outlets report extensively on PowerBall, especially when the jackpots grow massively large. Make sure to follow these news stories on non-draw days.
As interest and lottery fever increase, coverage of record jackpots also expands. Read articles hyping up the amazing prizes at stake to get yourself excited to play.
Often the lottery organizers will put out press releases about noteworthy PowerBall events like enormous jackpots. Don’t miss these important updates on your days between drawings.
Purchase Tickets Early
There is no need to wait until the last minute to buy PowerBall tickets on draw days. Take advantage of the flexibility to purchase tickets early, even on non-Tuesdays and Fridays.
Buying your ticket ahead of time guarantees you don’t forget or run out of time. It also avoids long queues in shops on the day of the drawing.
As soon as ticket sales open at 6:00 AM the morning of a draw day, get to a local retailer and make your PowerBall purchase. This ensures you get your tickets in well before the 8:30 PM cut-off.
Avoid the stressful, last-minute rush and take care of it early when you have time. This strategy works great when drawings fall on busy Fridays.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about playing PowerBall on draw and non-draw days:
What are the PowerBall draw days?
PowerBall drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday night in South Africa at 9:00 PM. These are the only two days where main jackpot prizes can be won.
Can I only buy tickets on Tuesdays and Fridays?
No, you can purchase PowerBall tickets every day of the week in advance of upcoming draws. The cut-off is 8:30 PM on the night of a drawing.
If I buy a ticket on Saturday, when is the next drawing it is eligible for?
If you purchase a PowerBall ticket on a Saturday, the first drawing it would be eligible for is the following Tuesday night. It could not be used for a Friday drawing over the weekend.
How can I view the winning numbers on non-draw days?
You can check the latest winning PowerBall numbers and jackpot information on the National Lottery website every day of the week. Results are posted immediately after the drawings.
Where are the PowerBall drawings televised?
The Tuesday night PowerBall drawings air on SABC 2 at 9:00 PM. The Friday drawings are simulcast on SABC 1 and Mzansi Magic at 9:00 PM.
Conclusion
In summary, PowerBall can only be played and won on Tuesdays and Fridays in South Africa. But there are still plenty of lottery activities you can do on the other days of the week as well.
Use non-draw days to purchase tickets in advance, do research, check results, and track jackpot progress. Follow major lottery news stories and get excited about upcoming drawings.
With smart preparation and planning, you can maximize your chances of winning big on the two PowerBall draw nights each week.
