PowerBall, described as one of the world's most popular lottery games because of its huge jackpots, begins in South Africa this week, according to national lottery operator Gidani.
From Friday, South Africans will be able to play the lottery game which has proved to be popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, the United States and New Zealand.
PowerBall is a double matrix game designed to give lottery players a chance to win vast amounts of money. There is a guaranteed jackpot of R30 million for the first PowerBall Draw on October 23. A PowerBall board is the same price as that of a Lotto ticket at R3.50.
The PowerBall double matrix coupon has two grids. The first grid has 45 numbers and the second has 20. There are eight game boards on a Powerball coupon. Players select five numbers out of the 45 in the first grid and one number of the 20 in the second grid. There are eight prize divisions.
In this game 42 percent of the prize pool goes to the jackpot category and the more the jackpot rolls over the larger the super jackpot prize becomes.
PowerBall will not be immediately available to online bank customers, ATM users and cellphone banking customers, as with other Lottery products.
On draw nights, PowerBall will have two sections. There will be two draw machines, two ball sets and two draws. One machine will have 45 balls and the other 20 balls. During the draw five balls will be randomly drawn from the machine containing 45 balls numbered one to 45. The PowerBall is the sixth ball which will be drawn from the second machine containing 20 balls numbered 1 to 20.
The game will be broadcast live at 9.30pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. The TV channel has not yet been identified.