In March 2000, Gidani, the South Africa National Lottery fixer at the time, introduced the famous South African Lotto. Today, Lotto is the most popular type of gambling game and lottery in South Africa.
In 2009, Powerball, a form of Lotto game was introduced in South Africa making the games more interesting.
We understand what gambling means to you. As such we will help you understand the popular Lotto Games in South Africa.
What Is South Africa Lotto Game
It is a lotto game that uses the 6/49 matrix. Essentially, you play this game by choosing 6 numbers from 1 to 49. The lotto game can be extended through the lotto plus. As such, you can only play the Lotto plus when playing the Lotto game.
Lotto has made about 714 South Africans millionaires and paid out more than 300,000,000 for winning tickets.
List of the Popular Lotto Games in South Africa
This list contains the most popular lotto games in South Africa. They include:
Lotto
Players buy lotto tickets with their chosen numbers ranging from 1 to 52. However, if you do not want to pick numbers yourself, you can use the QuickPick option – numbers are automatically generated for you. 52 balls are spun and 7 are drawn. If you match 3 and above of the drawn numbers, you receive a prize. The prize money increases with the more number of balls you match. For you to play Lotto game, you need to pay R5.00 per board.
Players who match all 6 numbers drawn win the jackpot.
Lotto Plus 1
Lotto Plus 1 is like Lotto but gives you a second shot at winning the prize. Essentially, when you buy Lotto ticket, you are supposed to pay an additional R2.50 per board to participate in the Lotto Plus 1 draw. However, the prizes for Lotto Plus 1 are a bit lower than Lotto.
Lotto Plus 2
Lotto Plus 2 offers you a third chance at winning. It follows the play principles of Lotto. When purchasing the Lotto ticket, you pay an additional R2.50 per board to join the Lotto Plus 2 game draw. The odds are similar to Lotto but the winning prizes are slightly less than Lotto.
Daily lotto
To play daily Lotto, you need to buy tickets with 5 numbers of your choice. These numbers should range from 1 to 36. You can select these numbers in one of two ways – QuickPick and Manual. The cost of buying a ticket is R3.00 per board.
Prizes in the Daily Lotto are awarded to people who match 2,3,4 and 5 numbers. If no one matches 5 numbers in any given draw, the jackpot amount is rolled down to anyone who has matched 4 numbers. The daily lotto results are released every day at 21:00 Central African Time (CAT), except on Christmas day.
Lotto and Lotto Plus Basic Information
The Lotto was introduced with 49 balls. But in 2017, Ithuba Holdings, the Lotto promoter at the time increased the numbers from 49 to 52.
A machine containing 52 balls (numbered 1 to 52) is spun and seven balls are drawn from the machine during the Lotto and Lotto plus draw. The 7 balls are drawn randomly from the Drawing Machine. The first 6 balls form the main numbers in the draw while the 7th ball is the bonus number.
There are different prize categories for matching these numbers in a predetermined order. If no one matches these numbers in any of the set orders, the prize money for the current game will be added to the next draw’s match 6 prize monies. If no one wins the jackpot at any given draw, the amount will be rolled over to the next jackpot draw. However, if no one wins the South African Lotto Plus Jackpot, the amount will not be rolled over.
Cost of Playing Lotto Jackpot and Lotto Plus
Every South Africa Lotto game costs R5.00 including VAT while the Lotto Plus Extension goes for R2.50.
The Lotto Drawing happens every Saturday and Wednesday and 9:30 pm in South Africa. It is broadcasted on live TV for everyone to see.
What are the Odds of Winning the Lotto
The odds of winning Lotto Jackpot in South Africa (matching the 6 lucky main balls/numbers) are 1 in 13,983,816. On the other hand, the odd of winning the second prize (matching 6 main balls and the bonus number) are 1 in 2,330,636.
Playing Lotto games is easy as buying your ticket and choosing the winning numbers. However, winning the Lotto prizes requires luck. The popular Lotto Games, Lotto, Lotto Plus 1, Lotto Plus 2, and Lotto Daily are available for you to play and stand a chance to win real prizes.
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