The Lotto draw went ‘live’ again this year – and there’s a reason why

If you’ve noticed the Lotto and PowerBall draws feeling different this year, you’re not imagining it. 

Sizekhaya Holdings took over as the National Lottery operator on 1 June 2026.

They brought back something that had quietly disappeared years earlier: an actual live televised draw.

Why “live” wasn’t always live

Under the previous operator, Ithuba, the draw broadcast hadn’t been genuinely live since September 2017.

A random number generator (RNG) system generated the winning numbers digitally, roughly 30 minutes before the broadcast, as soon as ticket sales closed.

The on-screen presentation simply displayed a result that had already been decided behind the scenes.

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Why Sizekhaya brought the physical draw back

Speaking ahead of the takeover, Sizekhaya Chief Operating Officer Fundi Sithebe explained the decision plainly: “It was important for us to bring that back, just to show the transparency.

Apart from the fact that it’s such a South African tradition, sitting around the TV watching.

The change means players can now watch the actual draw happen in real time again, rather than a graphics presentation of a result decided half an hour earlier.

The night the old system was put to the test

The digital-era system faced its biggest public test in December 2020, when a PowerBall draw produced the numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, plus a PowerBall of 10, a sequence tidy enough to go viral and trigger nationwide scrutiny.

Independent auditors and the National Lotteries Commission investigated directly and confirmed the draw was completely legitimate.

Mathematically, that sequence was exactly as likely as any other combination, we’re just wired to notice patterns more than randomness.

It’s actually kind of nice knowing the numbers dropping on screen now are happening for real, in real time. Feels like a proper throwback to the way it used to be.

Did you know the draw hadn’t been properly live for years before Sizekhaya brought it back, or did that change slip past you too?