Investigation into South Africa lottery after winning numbers are 5,6,7,8,9 and 10
South Africa’s National Lotteries Commission said the sequence was unprecedented and it would investigate the draw
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.South Africa’s national lottery has started an investigation into an “unprecedented” draw that saw six consecutive numbers selected, with 20 people claiming a share of the jackpot.
Tuesday night’s draw sparked widespread allegations of fraud or possible error as the numbers drawn were 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, while the powerball number came out as 10.
“Six consecutive numbers have never been drawn in any state or international Lotto game," the lottery’s website said.
"I have all the drawing results for more than 180 state and international Lotto games, going back more than 50 years! Even five consecutive numbers is a very rare occurrence that, in most Lotto games, has never happened once,” SA Lottery said.
The lottery operator acknowledged that while such a sequence of numbers is highly unusual, many players do opt for such combinations when picking their numbers.
The 20 players won 5.7 million rand (£277,000) each and another 79 ticketholders won 6,283 rand (£306) each for guessing the sequence right but missing the powerball.
“Congratulations to tonight’s 20 winners of PowerBall draw,” the lottery tweeted late on Tuesday.
The coincidence of 20 people sharing the jackpot with the unusual sequence led to accusations of a scam, and the hashtag #lotto trended in South Africa as people discussed the bizarre results.
“Jackpot R114M. 20 people won. That’s no coincidence. 20 people discussed this and shared that jackpot equally. R114M/20 = R5,7M. Absolutely no way in hell that’s a coincidence,” said Lungaz, a twitter user.
The numbers were drawn live on TV. The odds of Tuesday night’s consecutive sequence being drawn are one in 42,375,200 – the same as any other single combination. Each of the main numbers is chosen from a pot of 50, while the powerball is picked from a pot of 20 numbered balls.
South Africa’s National Lotteries Commission’s spokesperson said they would evaluate the incident and form a report on its findings.
This is not the first time that people won a share of the jackpot. In In March 2003, 33 players hit the jackpot for a single combination, according to the website that tallies results.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments