Zanele Shabelo

About Zanele Shabelo

Zanele Shabelo grew up in Soweto and studied journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she developed a strong interest in consumer affairs and personal finance reporting. After graduating, she worked across several South African digital publications covering business, lifestyle, and community finance topics before joining the NextDrawLogic editorial team in 2026.

At NextDrawLogic, Zanele is the lead writer on all editorial content relating to the South African National Lottery. Her work spans lottery news analysis, comprehensive how-to guides, tax explainers (including the flagship guide on how lottery winnings are taxed in South Africa), and deep-dive records articles such as the biggest lottery wins in South African history.

Zanele approaches every article with the same core principle: give South African players accurate, honest, and genuinely useful information — whether that means explaining why hot and cold numbers are not predictive, walking a reader through the Ithuba prize claim process step by step, or breaking down the responsible gambling resources available to anyone who needs them.

Her writing is guided by official sources — including Ithuba Holdings published records, SARS guidance, and National Lottery Commission documentation — and reviewed for accuracy before publication. Where information is uncertain or subject to change, she says so clearly.

Outside of NextDrawLogic, Zanele writes about township entrepreneurship, women in finance, and South African consumer rights. She is a regular reader of the South African Lottery results and describes herself as a "very occasional, very budget-conscious" lottery player.

Areas of Expertise