Photo: Unsplash
Photo: Unsplash
A whopping R121 million is waiting for a lucky Free State chancer who is yet to let National Lottery operator Ithuba know that his R15 PowerBall ticket was on the money on Tuesday 29 September.
Ithuba have appealed to players who bought tickets in Bloemspruit and Bloemfontein to make sure that their ticket isn’t the key to 2020’s third biggest Lotto jackpot, after winners claimed R135 million and R153 million in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) earlier this year.
Ithuba seek Bloemfontein, Bloemspruit winner
Busisiwe Msizi, head of corporate relations at Ithuba, said in a statement on Thursday that there could be several reasons why the winner hasn’t yet come forward, including possible anxiety over the enormous fortune – which amounts to R121 730 295.90 in total.
“We are excited that we have produced another big jackpot winner this year. We urge all players who bought their tickets in Bloemspruit, Bloemfontein, to check their tickets,” Msizi said.
“We understand that the winner could be experiencing feelings of both excitement and anxiety at winning this large sum of money, but we want to assure them that we are prepared to assist them through a smooth claiming process.”
Counselling and financial services available to Lotto winners
Msizi said that the operator has a mandate to ensure that the hand-over of such a life-changing fortune is accompanied with the proper services so that winners don’t become overwhelmed.
“Once we have validated the winning ticket, our first step is to offer the winner trauma counselling,” he said.
“Becoming R121 million richer overnight can be overwhelming to anyone; we intend to assist the winner [to] digest the news and enjoy every step of this life-changing experience.”
Along with trauma counselling, the winner will be provided with wealth management guidance to ensure that the money is put to good use.
“Trauma counselling will be followed by extensive financial advice to assist the winner with their financial planning to make sure they become financially secure for generations to come,” Msizi added.
