It’s a bummer for PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026, unfortunately. That’s because after a run of 24 consecutive rollovers, one lucky someone won the R179 million. This amounts to the second-highest lottery payout ever in South Africa, after R232 million was awarded back in February 2019.
And another lucky player actually won the R33 million for PowerBall Plus last week Friday. As they say in Gauteng these days, when it rains it pours. The identities of both winners are still to be revealed publicly. So, that means PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026 rolls back to zero, basically.
POWERBALL AND POWERBALL PLUS ON FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2026
Due to this unprecedented turn of events, PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026 sees the latter jackpot larger than the former. R5 million for the PowerBall and R6 million for the PowerBall Plus. Combined, this makes for an overall purse of R11 million available to players.
Never mind the bizarre fact that the regular Daily Lotto jackpot rolling on Saturday 24 January 2026 will potentially pay out more – R15 million. Now seems like a timely reminder that your odds of winning Daily Lotto versus PowerBall are far better. 42 million to one versus 376 000 to one. Statistically, that makes you 112 times more likely to win Daily Lotto versus PowerBall.
ALL THE POWERBALL NUMBERS FOR 2026
Nevertheless, let’s look back at Tuesday 20 January’s PowerBall and PowerBall Plus winning numbers. As we now know, the R179-million jackpot was won with these fateful numbers:
TUESDAY’S POWERBALL NUMBERS
Draw date: 20 January 2026
POWERBALL NUMBERS
02, 03, 16, 17, 35
PowerBall: 05
POWERBALL PLUS NUMBERS
01, 05, 07, 15, 40
PowerBall: 04
Also, be sure to check out all the other PowerBall results in 2026 so far:
- Friday 16 January 2026
- Tuesday 13 January 2026
- Friday 9 January 2026
- Tuesday 6 January 2026
- Friday 2 January 2026
GO ODDS FOR POWERBALL AND POWERBALL PLUS ON FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2026
According to The South African, ITHUBA, the operator of the national lottery did confirm this week that there was a big PowerBall jackpot winner of R179 million. Also, that no one has come forward yet to claim their winnings yet, so you should double-check your tickets ASAP.
PowerBall is drawn 104 times per year – on Tuesdays and Fridays. While Daily Lotto rolls every day, except Christmas Day, making it 364 days a year. Checking the lotto numbers drawn before is known as the ‘gambler’s fallacy.’ It has no bearing on future outcomes. However, you might actually have improved odds of winning the PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026. And here’s why …
POWERBALL AND POWERBALL PLUS ON FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2026
That’s because big jackpots like the 24-rollover R179 million just won, draws lots of attention and publicity. And this translates into millions more ticket sales for ITHUBA. This higher number of entrants means more chance the correct numbers will be drawn. Therefore, while Friday’s jackpot may be very low, ticket sales are almost certainly going to be less, and that means better odds if you do enter.
As ever, tickets for PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026 are available right up until 20:30. Thirty minutes before the official draw at 21:00, which you can catch live on e.tv (channel 194). For PowerBall and PowerBall Plus you must pick five numbers from 1 to 50. And one PowerBall number from 1 to 20. Entry is R5, plus an extra R2.50 for the PowerBall Plus. And if you’re unsure of what numbers to choose, you can always opt for an auto-generated Quick Pick.
WEBSITES, STORES AND BANKING APPS
There are so many different ways to enter PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026. Although unconfirmed, there have been reports that Tuesday’s R179-million PowerBall winner purchased their ticket through a banking app. Also, according to statistics, the most frequent lotto winners in 2025 were also through banking apps.
You can always visit the National Lottery website or dial 1207529# and follow USSD prompts. Likewise, the National Lottery Mobile App is very popular. Tickets are also available at your nearest participating retailers in-store. Just six numbers stand between you and the PowerBall and PowerBall Plus on Friday 23 January 2026. You won’t be a winner unless you play …
