“Absa Needs To Make Allowance”: Absa User Has Less Than 24 Hours To Claim R509 925 PowerBall Prize

• An unclaimed PowerBall 2nd Division prize worth over R500 000 is set to expire on 18 July 2026
• The winning ticket, bought through the Absa banking app, matched numbers drawn on 18 July 2025
• Absa customers say the app blocks them from checking lottery entries older than January 2026, making it impossible to verify

An Absa banking app user has just hours left to claim a PowerBall prize worth R509 925 before the money disappears for good.

The 2nd Division winning ticket matched numbers drawn on 18 July 2025. The winning combination was 5, 21, 26, 28 and 39, with a PowerBall bonus ball of 6. Under National Lottery rules, all prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the draw date. No extensions are granted. According to a report by The South African, that deadline falls on 18 July 2026.

ITHUBA, the former lottery operator, originally flagged the unclaimed ticket. Sizekhaya, which has since taken over lottery operations, confirmed it processes claims for tickets issued during the ITHUBA era, but only while the claim window remains open.

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Anyone who played PowerBall through the Absa app around 18 July 2025 is urged to contact Absa or Sizekhaya directly before the deadline passes on Friday.

Read the full South African story here.

Readers React to the Unclaimed Prize

What has made this situation especially alarming is that several Absa customers say they physically cannot check whether they hold the winning ticket. Multiple readers were quick to weigh in:

It'sRelative said:

"Cannot be done! The date range has expired. Surely Absa needs to make allowance for this or be liable if the customer did not claim in time. How would one know though. Interesting problem."

Bushfritz wrote:

"100% ABSA's fault if this person never gets this money... why do you have lotto on your app for then????"

IwantsAnswers said:

"ABSA does not allow you to review tickets in 2025. What are we going to do about this? They need to email or call the winner."

Grumpie shared:

"Opened Absa banking app, but date range to check past entries are only available to Jan 2026, option for 2025 is not there, so it is impossible to check entries for last year."

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More Briefly News Stories on Lotto

• A lucky South African Lotto player won the R69 million Lotto jackpot in the July 15 draw, with the ticket purchased via a banking app.
• A Gauteng mining entrepreneur claimed a R100.6 million Lotto jackpot after discovering he held the winning Quick Pick ticket and said he plans to support his family and fund tertiary education for young people at his church.
• A lucky South African won the R100 million Lotto jackpot in the June 7 draw after buying a Quick Pick ticket through a banking app.

Source: Briefly News