POWERBALL players will now enjoy the added convenience of playing South Africa’s richest game through their cellphones, National Lottery Operator Gidani has announced.

The new method of playing, which is being launched through First National Bank, is part of the National Lottery Operator’s effort to make it easy and convenient for players to access the game.

“In an era where technology plays a crucial role in facilitating a better life, this service is very practical and handy for players who in their busy lives might not have the time to purchase their tickets from outlets.

“The cellphone banking playing channel does away with the worry of possibly missing out on a compelling Jackpot,” said Gidani spokesperson Thembi Tulwana.

She said cellphone play was not only a convenient way of playing but a very secure one as there are no tickets issued and there is no risk of tickets getting lost, stolen, damaged or being tempered with.

Players will also be able to play Quick Pick via this medium.

Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO FNB Cellphone Banking Solutions said: “The availability of PowerBall to FNB customers through Cellphone Banking is part of a collaborative vision with Gidani to make its new games available through FNB’s electronic banking channels.”

Tulwana said PowerBall would, however, only be available through cellphone banking for now. Online and ATM playing would be launched at a later stage.

With cellphone banking play, players will enjoy convenient access to their winnings up to R50 000 as these would be paid directly into their accounts, without having to claim for them. However prizes above R50 000 will have to be claimed through any GIDANI office.

More importantly, Tulwana said, this platform “provides us with immediate identification of players and winners’ profiles, thereby allowing the organization to effectively deal with any confusion that may arise regarding unlawful claims by anybody especially persons under the age of 18”.

PowerBall is a double matrix game where the objective is to correctly guess 5 numbers out of 45 from the first grid and 1 number out of 20 from the second grid.