South African Lottery
The South African National Lottery offers a wide variety of draw games, some of which offer uncapped jackpots that have previously reached more than R100 million.
Lotto
Lotto ticket holders must pick six numbers from a choice of 52. In order to win the jackpot, a player must match all of the main balls drawn. A Bonus Ball is also drawn, which allows players who match it with two, three, four and five main numbers to boost their winnings.
| Matched | Prize | Odds of Winning |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 60% of Prize Fund | 1:20,358,520 |
| 5 + Bonus Ball | 15% of Prize Fund | 1:3,393,087 |
| 5 | 25% of Prize Fund | 1:75,402 |
| 4 + Bonus Ball | R4,000 | 1:30,161 |
| 4 | R200 | 1:1,371 |
| 3 + Bonus Ball | R200 | 1:1,028 |
| 2 + Bonus Ball | R30 | 1:96 |
| 3 | R20 | 1:72 |
| Overall odds of winning a South Africa Lotto prize are 1 in 38. | ||
Matching two main numbers plus the Bonus Ball will see a player win a guaranteed prize of R20, with the value of the awards won increasing as they match more numbers.
Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto 5 Max
For a small additional fee, players can use their selections from the main game in Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto 5 Max. These are supplementary draws which work in the same way as the main Lotto game, with six main numbers and a Bonus Ball drawn from a pool of 52. You have to play Lotto to be able to play Lotto Plus 1, and you have to play both Lotto and Lotto Plus 1 to be able to play Lotto 5 Max.
The jackpot for Lotto Plus 1 rolls over when it is not won and increases in value for the following draw. For Lotto 5 Max, the jackpot is guaranteed to be won in the final draw of each month. If nobody matches all the numbers, the jackpot cascades down to Division 2 and is split between winners. It will roll down to Division 3 if there are no winners in Division 3.
Here are the winning tiers and the odds of winning for both games.
| Matched | Prize | Odds of Winning |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 45% of Prize Fund | 1:20,358,520 |
| 5 + Bonus Ball | 20% of Prize Fund | 1:3,393,087 |
| 5 | 35% of Prize Fund | 1:75,402 |
| 4 + Bonus Ball | R2,000 | 1:30,161 |
| 4 | R100 | 1:1,371 |
| 3 + Bonus Ball | R100 | 1:1,028 |
| 2 + Bonus Ball | R15 | 1:96 |
| 3 | R10 | 1:72 |
| Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 38. | ||
Daily Lotto
Daily Lotto is an exciting game that is played at 21:00 SAST every day. Tickets cost R3 per line, and players can enter by picking five numbers between 1 and 36. There are four different prizes to be won, including the jackpot for matching all five numbers.
Prizes are based on how many tickets are sold and how many winners there are, with a certain percentage of the prize fund going to each category. Individual prize amounts can therefore change from draw to draw.
The jackpot has to be won in every draw so if no ticket holder matches the full line, the prize money rolls down to the next winning prize tier. Daily Lotto can be played at licensed retailers in South Africa or online from various locations around the world. The table below shows the how the prize money is split and the odds of winning in each category.
| Divisions | Matched | Odds | Prize % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 5 | 1:376,992 | 35%* |
| Level 2 | 4 | 1:2,432 | 10% |
| Level 3 | 3 | 1:81 | 15% |
| Level 4 | 2 | 1:8.4 | 40% |
| Overall Odds of Winning a Prize are 1 in 7.6 | |||
*If there are no jackpot winners, the money rolls down so the Division 2 prize receives 45% of the overall prize fund.
Powerball
In South Africa’s Powerball game, players pick five main numbers from 50 and one Powerball from 16 with the multimillion-Rand jackpot being won by matching the entire winning line drawn. There are nine prize categories in total with cash amounts being awarded for matching anything from just the Powerball upwards. Here are the winning combinations, the odds of winning and the prizes awarded for each tier.
| Divisions | Matched | Odds | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 5 + Powerball | 1:33,900,160 | 91% of Prize Fund |
| Level 2 | 5 | 1:2,260,011 | 6% of Prize Fund |
| Level 3 | 4 + Powerball | 1:150,667 | 3% of Prize Fund |
| Level 4 | 4 | 1:10,044 | R2,000 |
| Level 5 | 3 + Powerball | 1:3,424 | R500 |
| Level 6 | 3 | 1:228 | R100 |
| Level 7 | 2 + Powerball | 1:239 | R100 |
| Level 8 | 1 + Powerball | 1:46 | R20 |
| Level 9 | Powerball | 1:28 | R10 |
| Overall odds of winning a South Africa Powerball prize are 1 in 15. | |||
Powerball XTRA
For an extra R5, players can enter their Powerball numbers into Powerball XTRA, which gives them another chance of winning. Here are the winning tiers and prize amounts for Powerball XTRA. The big difference with this game is that the jackpot can only grow until the final draw of the month, when it is guaranteed to be won. A Jackpot Cascade will happen if nobody matches all the numbers, with the money flowing down to Division 2 (or Division 3 if required).
| Divisions | Matched | Odds | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 5 + Powerball | 1:33,900,160 | 91% of Prize Fund |
| Level 2 | 5 | 1:2,260,011 | 6% of Prize Fund |
| Level 3 | 4 + Powerball | 1:150,667 | 3% of Prize Fund |
| Level 4 | 4 | 1:10,044 | R2,000 |
| Level 5 | 3 + Powerball | 1:3,424 | R500 |
| Level 6 | 3 | 1:228 | R100 |
| Level 7 | 2 + Powerball | 1:239 | R100 |
| Level 8 | 1 + Powerball | 1:46 | R20 |
| Level 9 | Powerball | 1:28 | R10 |
| Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 15. | |||
Matchplay
As well as draw games such as Lotto, Powerball and Daily Lotto, South Africans can enjoy Matchplay games. These are sporting prediction games, where you win prizes by correctly guessing the outcome of featured fixtures. This involves marking ‘1’ to predict a home win, ‘X’ for a draw or ‘2’ for an away win. Here’s a brief guide to how each one works:
Matchplay 8 – Predict the first-half and second-half outcomes of eight soccer matches. Win prizes by matching 13 or more out of 16.
Matchplay 13 – Predict the full-time outcome of 13 soccer matches from around the world. You need to get 10 or more correct to win a prize.
Matchplay 14 – Exactly like Matchplay 13, but there are 14 featured matches. Get at least 11 predictions correct to land a prize.
Matchplay 14 Omnisports – The fixture lists for this game include rugby, cricket, tennis, basketball, hockey and many other sports. Match all 14 predictions to win the jackpot, or get 11, 12 or 13 correct to win a lower prize.
Matchplay 9/14 – This game allows you to choose nine of 14 fixtures to bet on. Win a prize if you get eight or nine predictions correct.
National Lottery Raffle
National Lottery Raffles historically took place from time to time and offered the chance to win luxury prizes, including cars and houses, as well as other amazing cash prizes.
Players bought tickets containing pre-printed unique codes and sales closed half an hour before the draw or when all of the codes were issued, whichever came first.
Previous jackpot winners won prizes including Mini Cooper Convertibles, new homes, and R1 million cash payments. The table below shows the prizes awarded in the latest raffle on Friday 10th January 2020. The top prize was one of 10 Mercedes Benz C200 Cabriolets and there were over 2,000 cash prizes on offer.
| Prize | Number of Prizes | Winning Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes Benz C200 Cabriolet | 10 | 1 in 50,000 |
| R50,000 | 20 | 1 in 25,000 |
| R10,000 | 155 | 1 in 3,226 |
| R1,000 | 2,160 | 1 in 231 |
| Overall odds of winning: 1 in 213 | ||
