Lotteries take up significant space in the gambling sector across the world, and it is no different in South Africa. The providers of lottery services have introduced new products from time to time to strengthen their customer base, so it did not come as a surprise when Evolution launched its new Golden Balls lottery game. Evolution is an acknowledged innovator in its core market of live dealer casino games with unique titles like Dream Catcher, Lightning Roulette and Infinite Blackjack.
The New Golden Balls Lottery Game
In South Africa, Evolution has chosen to act through its subsidiary unit Ezugi, which has joined hands with World Sports Betting (WSB) to roll out its new Golden Balls lottery game. The lottery first went live at the WSB outlets in Cape Town and will soon be available to WSB’s other retail outlets in Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal provinces.
Golden Balls is a live lottery game, just like Ezugi’s Bet on Numbers, which has been hugely popular and successful in the South African retail market. Such games allow players to share in the excitement and thrill of betting alongside other players. The greater suspense is of watching the numbers drawn in real-time. Golden Balls are being streamed from Ezugi’s European studio and have highly professional game presenters that will hold your attention all the way.
The new live lottery is an exciting variant of the Bet on the Numbers game and the innovative features have instantly drawn South African players to it. The WSB portals have been getting high traffic since Golden Balls were launched on June 21. Some of the popular features are:
- It offers players surprise wins
- There is a multiplier excitement involved
- Players can get cashback on losing bets.
Both Ezugi and WSB are confident of the long-term success of the Golden Balls Lottery.
H3: Evolution Reacts Positively to Golden Balls
Dean Finder, the CEO of Evolution Services said through a press release, “From our knowledge of the local market, we know that Golden Balls – a fixed odds lottery game with a betting twist – is going to be a huge hit, not only in South Africa, however, Africa and worldwide as well.” He added that WSB is one of the most acclaimed names in the South African betting industry and the partnership with them will be a win-win situation for both.
Ezugi was launched in 2012 with the objective of catering to the growing live dealer section of the online casino industry. The impact it made was so powerful that in 2019, the market leader evolution acquired Ezugi for over $12 million.
WSB Welcomes the New Addition
WSB head of operations, Richard Tannous, said, “It’s always great to be first into the market with a new product, especially a really exciting, best-in-class product like Ezugi’s Golden Balls.” He thanked Evolution Services SA for the opportunity and said that the betting company was committed to a long and fruitful relationship.
WSB was founded in 2002 and with its friendly, fast and secure betting experience has become South Africa’s premier online sportsbook. It offers over 250,000 pre-match events per month, a minimum of 200,000 live in-play events and 500 Lotto draws.
History of the South African Lottery
Lotteries offer humongous payouts with minuscule stakes and so players are willing to accept the significantly lower returns as compared to other online gambling ventures. This has allowed governments the world over to use lotteries as revenue generators. The South African government jumped on the bandwagon rather late, toward the end of the twentieth century. The country’s first Lotto draw took place on Saturday, March 11 2000. More than 800,000 tickets were sold on the first day alone and South Africans have not looked back since.
Nothing was the original government-appointed operator for SA Lottery until it was replaced in 2007 by Gidani, which in turn was replaced by the current operator ITHUBA in 2015. Today, the National Lottery offers a number of products that include:
- Lotto
- Powerball
- Sportstake 13
- Pick 3
- EAZiWIN
- RAPIDO
Big Lottery Winners in South Africa
In the last two decades there has been some really big lottery wins and these, no doubt, are fuelling interest in the new Golden Balls live lottery game. These are some of the lucky South Africans in recent months.
Man from Limpopo wins R43 Million
This man from Limpopo bought a R22.50 ruffle ticket for the Powerball jackpot from the March 2021 draw. The R43 million win has changed his life. The winner said that he would give his children the best education and empower his community through job creation and self-sustenance projects. SA Lottery added that the winning lottery ticket was purchased using a quick-pick selection method.
KZN Housewife wins R56 Million
The ticket cost only R7.50 and the payout was bigger at R56 million from this Powerball May 2021 draw. The housewife winner had been playing Powerball since its inception and manually picks her tickets. The prize was a godsend to this lady who was widowed just last year. “I will use the winnings to buy my son and his wife a brand-new house and car. I will also help by looking after my mother financially, she said.
No Claimants for R135 Million
This one is a mystery. The Lottery has informed that no one has stepped up to claim a bumper payout of R135 million from an April 2021 draw. As such the time for picking up the prize expired on June 1, but keeping the pandemic lockdown conditions in mind, it has been extended to October 31. It will be a tragedy if no one turns up.
So far there have not been any mega wins on Golden Balls Lottery, but it has been less than a month since launch. Keep visiting our site and we will bring you news on the first big Golden Balls winner.