South African Lotto
The lottery in South Africa has been running for over 20 years. It was first introduced to the country in 2000. Since it was introduced it has grown in size and now offers South African players the ability to play a multiple different days of the week with multiple different draws. So, what is the exact details behind the lotto and what you should know about it?
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes.
What is the Lotto?
The lotto currently has three draws that take place. There is Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2. All three of these draws take place two times a week. Once on Wednesday and once on Saturday. Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 are only available if players have already bought a ticket for the standard Lotto. Each of the additional draws costs R2.50 to enter.
The Lotto gives players the ability to choose 6 numbers from a list of 52. Then when the Lotto takes place 6 numbered balls will be drawn from the machine, followed by a 7th bonus ball. If you have managed to match numbers then you will win prizes.
The sportstake lottery is part of the national lottery.
What can you Win?
There are only two combinations that offer fixed prizes to players. If you match 2 balls then you will be paid a prize of R20. If you match 3 balls then you will be paid a prize of R50. The next prizes that are on offer change depending on the prize pool that’s in place. The order that the prizes increase is as follows:
- 3 balls and the bonus ball
- 4 balls
- 4 balls and the bonus ball
- 5 balls
- 5 balls and the bonus ball
- 6 balls
Obviously the more money that is in the prize pool, the higher the payouts will be. What should also be taken into account is rollovers. Rollovers occur if there isn’t a winner of the big prize. In this case the prize will rollover to the next week and any prize pool that is created from bought tickets that week will add onto the total prize fund. It means that if the main prize isn’t won over the course of a few weeks the size of the prize can increase to large levels.
What does it Cost?
The cost of a standard Lotto ticket is R5. The Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 cost R2.50 each. Players are not able to place a bet on just the Lotto Plus 1 or 2. You can only place a wager on these draws if you have already placed a bet on the previous level. For example, you can’t place a Lotto Plus 1 bet if you haven’t had a standard Lotto ticket. You can’t place a Lotto Plus 2 bet if you haven’t placed a Lotto Plus 1 bet.
How to Place your Bet
It’s very simple to place a bet on the Lotto. All you need to do is find a retailer that sells Lotto tickets. Once you’ve done that then you can easily choose your numbers and place your bet. However, if you can’t make it to a retailer that sells Lotto tickets then you can also place your bets online. In this case you will need to be a South African resident. As long as that’s the case then you can just navigate to the South African National Lottery site and then you will be able to purchase your tickets.
The online site actually creates an account for you that you need to fund using a payment method. Once this is done you will be able to use this account to purchase the tickets that you want for the different draws.
How do I Claim my Winnings?
It depends on how much you have won. If you have won up to R2,000 then you just go to any retailer that sells Lotto tickets. Here you will be able to claim your winnings. If you have won between R2,000 and R50,000 then you will need to go to an official payment centre or via mail. This payment isn’t paid in cash, it is paid out using Electronic Funds Transfer or you can request a cheque.
If you win more than R50,000 then you will need to get a claim form from a Post Office. Once you have this form then you will need to take it to the regional claim office. Here your win will be validated and verified and then your winnings will be paid out via Electronic Funds Transfer.
What’s Powerball?
Powerball is the next step up from the Lotto. While the prizes for the Lotto can sometimes get to quite high levels, they are nothing when compared to what’s available with Powerball. The total prize is uncapped so if it rolls over then there can be incredible prizes offered to players. It has gone over R100 million before. This makes it incredibly lucrative and exciting.
The Powerball works by players choosing 6 numbers. The first 5 numbers are chosen from a list of 50. The 6th number is the Powerball. This is chosen from a list of 20. If the player is able to land all 5 numbers and then get the Powerball correct as well then this will pay out the jackpot to players.
The tickets for the Powerball cost R5, just like the standard Lotto. They are also available for purchase in the same way. If you want to play for bigger prizes then Powerball is the way to do it.