SportStake pools: MatchPlay 13 and MatchPlay 8
SportStake is the National Lottery's soccer pool family, renamed MatchPlay when Sizekhaya Holdings took over the lottery on 1 June 2026. Two pools are on sale: SportStake 13, thirteen matches and one forecast each, and SportStake 8, eight matches with a first-half and a second-half forecast on each. TAB does not run either. This page is the two of them side by side, with this week's cards, close times, results and tips.
We counted the card lengths, payout levels and pool counts from the operators' own published data on Thursday 17 September 2026. Entry prices are what each operator says on its own page, and nobody outside has checked them.
| Pool | Matches | Single entry | Levels that pay | Open now | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SportStake 13 | 13 | Not published | 10/13, 11/13, 12/13 and 13/13 | 1 | the National Lottery |
| SportStake 8 | 8 | Not published | 13/8, 14/8, 15/8 and 16/8 | 1 | the National Lottery |
We read "Levels that pay" off every finished pool we have collected, not off a rule book. So it shows what the operator really paid, not what it says it will pay.
- SportStake 13 fixtures Pool 2021, 13 matches, closes Sat 19 Sep at 14:59
- SportStake 8 fixtures Pool 1006, 8 matches, closes Sat 19 Sep at 14:29
- SportStake 13 tips What the settled pools show, card by card
- SportStake 8 tips What the settled pools show, card by card
- SportStake 13 results and payouts 27 settled pools on file
- SportStake 8 results and payouts 15 settled pools on file
Want to bet on one match on its own?
A pool ticket and a bookmaker bet are different products. If what you want is a bet on one of these matches on its own, at a price you can see before you stake, that is a licensed South African bookmaker rather than a pool.
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That button is a paid link, and this site can earn a commission when you use it. It changes nothing above. The fixture lists, results and dividends all come from the pool operator's own feed. Easybet is licensed in South Africa. Read their offer terms before you put money in. 18+ only.
What each one asks of you
- SportStake 13 13 matches. You pick one of three results in each match. The National Lottery runs this pool, not TAB, and since 1 June 2026 the operator calls it MatchPlay 13 rather than SportStake 13.
- SportStake 8 8 matches, two forecasts on each: the result of the first half and the result of the second half, sixteen picks in all. The National Lottery runs this pool, not TAB, and since 1 June 2026 the operator calls it MatchPlay 8 rather than SportStake 8.
This week's cards
Cheap to enter does not mean easy to win
What changes your chances most is how many levels pay out, because that decides whether a near miss is worth anything. What changes your payout most is how many other people entered, and nobody can see that before the pool closes. You can never price that part, which is why we sell no tips.
Most tickets in every pool win nothing. Each game has its own how to play page with the full detail. To see where every figure here came from, read how we check the data.
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Paid links, and this site can earn a commission when you use them. They change nothing above: the fixtures, results and dividends all come from the pool operator's own feed. Offers as Easybet advertised them on 2026-08-26; their own site is the only place showing today's terms. 18+ only. T&Cs apply.
Questions
What is SportStake called now?
MatchPlay. Sizekhaya Holdings replaced Ithuba as the National Lottery operator on 1 June 2026 and renamed SportStake 13 to MatchPlay 13 and SportStake 8 to MatchPlay 8. Same cards, same operator feed, new name on the operator's site. SportStake 4 is no longer offered.
When do the SportStake pools close, midweek or weekend?
SportStake 13 pool 2021 closes Sat 19 Sep at 14:59 South African time. SportStake 8 pool 1006 closes Sat 19 Sep at 14:29 South African time. Every pool carries its own sale end time in the operator feed, and the fixtures pages read that rather than assume a weekday; midweek and weekend cards both happen.
Where are the SportStake tips and predictions?
On each pool's tips page, linked below. They are built from what the settled pools show, home wins, draws and away wins across every card on file, and not from a forecast. Every pool is a fresh set of matches; nothing about the last card changes the next one.
What do the symbols on a SportStake winning combination mean?
On the National Lottery pools, 4 is a home win, 2 is a draw, 1 is an away win and 7 is a void match where every pick counts. That is the reverse of the TAB pools, which use 1 for a home win. SportStake 8 publishes sixteen symbols: the first-half results of the eight matches, then the second-half results.