Why you should play Friday PowerBall XTRA on 28 August R22m guaranteed payout

What’s at stake this Friday? According to The South African, Friday PowerBall XTRA on 28 August 2026 is a guaranteed payout of R22 million. That guaranteed cascade improves the chance that the prize pot will be split among winners rather than rolling over again.

How the XTRA guarantee works

The South African explains that XTRA uses a cascade system: on the eighth and final draw of each month the jackpot rolls down if there is no Division 1 winner, forcing the money into lower divisions instead of rolling over. The XTRA guarantee in this instance means the Friday draw will pay out the R22 million to one or more winners.

Odds for splitting the R22 million

The South African sets out the odds under the PowerBall matrix in use since Sizekhaya’s 1 June 2026 takeover. According to The South African, the odds of splitting the R22 million for PowerBall XTRA on 28 August 2026 are:

• Five numbers plus PowerBall (Division 1): 1 in 33 900 160
• Five numbers only (Division 2): 1 in 2 260 011
• Four numbers plus PowerBall (Division 3): 1 in 150 667
• Four numbers only (Division 4): 1 in 10 045
• Three numbers plus PowerBall (Division 5): 1 in 3 424
• Three numbers only (Division 6): 1 in 228

Cost, how to play and where winners come from

According to The South African, a standard PowerBall board now costs R10 and PowerBall XTRA costs R5 per board; you cannot play XTRA on its own so the total per board is R15. Players choose five main numbers from 1 to 50 plus one PowerBall from 1 to 16, and both the straight PowerBall and PowerBall XTRA use the same numbers.

Tickets are sold at authorised National Lottery retailers and via participating banking apps. According to The South African, the largest percentage of winners come from the banking apps, purely due to the ease and convenience of the medium.

Draws, cut-off times and claiming prizes

According to The South African, PowerBall and PowerBall XTRA draws take place every Tuesday and Friday at 21:00. Ticket sales typically cut off at 20:30, half an hour before the draw. All PowerBall prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the draw date.

How prizes are claimed depends on the amount won: small prizes up to R4 999 are paid at licensed retailers; mid-tier prizes from R5 000 to R49 999 can be claimed at selected partner banks; online and banking-app players can have prizes up to R249 999 deposited automatically; and prizes above R49 999 for non-banking-app tickets require an in-person visit to a Sizekhaya regional office with the original ticket and a valid South African ID. The South African also notes that anyone unsure where to start can call the Sizekhaya helpline on 0861 026 000.

One last reminder

According to The South African, around R257 million in lottery prizes currently sits unclaimed across South Africa from the previous operator, so it’s worth checking old tickets against past results up to one year old.

You have to be in it to win it and for Friday PowerBall XTRA that means remembering to add the extra R5 for XTRA when you buy your boards.