R100 million Lotto jackpot claimed, is it you?

One South African citizen is R100 million richer after the massive Lotto jackpot was claimed.

Ithuba Holdings, the operator of the National Lottery in South Africa was actively searching for the winner of the R100 million jackpot from draw number 2461, which took place on 3 August 2024.

The winning ticket purchased at Pick n Pay, Hazeldean Square, Pretoria was unclaimed for almost three weeks, prompting Ithuba to urge all National Lottery participants in Pretoria to check their tickets.

R100M winner

Now after almost three weeks, the search has come to an end with Ithuba on Sunday announcing that the winner has been found.

“Congratulations to the recent Lotto jackpot winner who won over R100 million from the 03/08/2024 draw. The prize has been claimed and the winner search has come to an end!”

Congratulations to the recent #LOTTO jackpot winner who WON OVER R100 MILLION from the 03/08/2024 draw. The prize has been claimed and the winner search has come to an end! *Players must be 18 years or older, play responsibly. ITHUBA is the proud operator of the National Lottery pic.twitter.com/XRzLclEBCF

— #PhandaPushaPlay (@sa_lottery) August 26, 2024

The latest winner joins the ranks of lucky players, including those who won R59 million from the 12 July PowerBall draw and a man from Benoni, who claimed his R70 million PowerBall winnings in June.

The Benoni man, who won from the draw on 31 May, was unaware of his newfound riches until days after the draw.

ALSO READ: South Africa has a new Lotto jackpot winner of R100 million

Unclaimed winnings

Ithuba said unclaimed winnings are transferred to a National Lotteries Participants Trust Fund (NLPTF) for safekeeping until claimed by the respective winner.

“If the prizes are not claimed within 365 days from the draw date, the claim period will expire, and the funds are redirected towards the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) to share among good causes and beneficiary organisations.”

Tax-free

Lotto winners who win more than R50 000 receive free financial and trauma counselling and all winnings are tax-free.

The highest jackpot ever (R110 million) was won by four people in 2018.

Three winners purchased their tickets from retail stores in the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal, while the fourth winner played using the FNB banking App.

Additonal reporting By Vhahangwele Nemakonde

ALSO READ: Lotto and Lotto Plus results: Saturday, 24 August 2024