How to Play South Africa Lotto – 7 Steps for Beginners

Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery? The South Africa Lotto is one of the most popular lotteries in the world, offering huge jackpots to lucky winners. But if you’re new to the game, you may not know where to start.

Playing the lottery can be a fun and exciting way to try your luck and potentially win big. However, it’s important to know the rules and strategies to increase your chances of winning. The South Africa Lotto has its own unique rules and regulations

If you’re a beginner looking to play the South Africa Lotto, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll walk you through the seven steps you need to know to get started. From choosing your numbers to claiming your prize, we’ll cover everything you need to know to play the South Africa Lotto like a pro. So let’s get started!

What You Should Know About the South Africa Lotto

South Africa Lotto

Before you head to the shop to buy your South African lottery ticket, there are some facts about the game you should look at first. It will give you more of an understanding of the game and if it’s worth your time and effort. In this section, you’ll learn about how this lottery started, what age you must be to play and more.

How did The South Africa Lotto Start?

To some players’ surprise, the South Africa lotto isn’t as old as other lotteries like US Powerball. In 2000, former president Thabo Mbeki launched the first National Lottery in Cape Town and the first draw took place in March that same year.

After the first draw, it didn’t take long for people to start winning prizes. There have been players who’ve won as much as R22 million from this lottery.

Age to Play South Africa Lotto

Every lottery has specific regulations when playing, especially when it comes to age. In some countries, you can be as young as 16 to play the lottery.

But if you’re playing this South African lottery you must be 18 years old to play. This is because gambling is considered an adult activity and minors are not legally allowed to participate in gambling activities.

It’s important for the country’s gambling industry to adhere to age restrictions to ensure responsible gambling practices and to prevent underage gambling. The South African National Lottery also has strict regulations in place to ensure fairness and transparency in the lottery system, which further emphasizes the importance of age restrictions for participation.

Where Can You Play The South Africa Lotto?

If you live in any of the nine provinces in South Africa, you can play this country’s national lottery. You can buy your lottery ticket from any shop that sells lottery tickets such as Checkers, Spar and even petrol stations in your area.

South Africa Lotto draw

Another way to play this South African lottery is online, either through online lottery sites such as TheLotter or through the National Lottery website. Players can also buy lines through their banking apps.

Price of Tickets

The price of your South African lottery ticket will depend on how many boards you’ve chosen. If you’ve chosen a single board it will cost you R5. Choosing extras such as LOTTO Plus 1 or LOTTO Plus 2 will cost you an extra R2.50. 

You must choose LOTTO Plus 1 to pick LOTTO Plus 2. So if you’ve chosen a single board and included the LOTTO Plus options your ticket will cost you R10. The price will increase the more boards you choose to play.

Odds of Winning

Looking at the odds the South Africa Lotto is one of the easiest lotteries to win in the world. The odds of winning the jackpot prize is 1 in 20,358,520 for the jackpot prize which is better than the odds of winning Mega Millions.

The Biggest Jackpot Ever Won from the South Africa Lotto

South Africa has had its fair share of big lottery winners. But in 2019 a Capetonian man became one of the biggest jackpot winners in the history of the South Africa Lotto. He won a large R232 million prize and since South Africa doesn’t tax their players, he went home with the entire amount.

7 Steps to Play The South Africa Lotto

South Africa Lotto

Source: TheLotter

Playing the South Africa Lotto is easy if you know where to play, how to buy tickets and how to check results. If you’re new to playing this lottery then follow the easy steps in this section.

Choose How to Play South Africa Lotto

As mentioned before, there are several ways you can play the South Africa Lotto. You must choose a method of playing that’s convenient for you. If you’re at a local shop or petrol station, you can buy a lottery ticket from the cashier.

However, if you want to skip the queues you can play the South Africa Lotto off of the official Ithuba National Lottery website. If you’re a resident in South Africa and you bank with FNB, Standard Bank or ABSA you can purchase boards from your banking app on your cell phone.

On the other hand, if you’re a foreigner you can buy South Africa Lotto tickets through sites such as LottoSmile.

Select Your Draw Dates

The South Africa Lotto has two draws every week. One is held on Wednesday and the other is held on Saturday at 20:59 pm local time. If you’ve chosen the LOTTO Plus 1 and Plus 2, these draws will take place immediately after the main lotto draw.

Choose whether you want to play on Wednesday or Saturday and remember to purchase tickets before the cutoff time which is 30 minutes before the draw time.

Choose Your Numbers

Once you’ve chosen which date you want to play this South African lottery, it’s time to pick your numbers. For this particular lotto, you must choose six numbers between 1 and 52 on any board by marking your numbers clearly on the ticket.

You can choose as many boards as you like but remember that the more boards you choose, the higher the cost will be. If you’re playing online, you must choose your numbers on a digital ticket. With banking apps, you can simply swipe up or down on a group of numbers to choose which digits you want to play.

Consider Using the Quick Pick Option

If you don’t want to choose your numbers manually, you can ask a cashier to generate the numbers for you using the quick pick option. This means you don’t have to fill out a ticket when picking your numbers. The quick-pick option is ideal if you want to save time choosing numbers.

When choosing a quick pick through online sites or through your banking app the numbers will also automatically generate. 

Quick Pick Option

Source: 24Lottos

Choose Extras

If you want to enter extra draws with the numbers you’ve chosen then you can tick the LOTTO Plus 1 or LOTTO Plus 2 boxes on your ticket. Choosing these options will cost extra.

choose six numbers South Africa lotto

Online sites may offer other extras such as subscriptions or multipliers when playing. The subscription option allows you to enter more draws with your chosen numbers for a small fee. On the other hand, the multiplier options can multiply your non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4 or even 5 times so you’ll get more cash out.

Pay for Your Ticket

When you’re done choosing your numbers and any extras on your lottery ticket it’s time to pay for what you’ve chosen. If you’ve bought your ticket at a local store, you can simply hand in your ticket to the cashier and then pay the amount owed. You must pay cash as credit or debit card lottery ticket purchases for in-store lottery tickets are prohibited.

However, if you’ve played online, you may need to deposit money into your e-wallet on the site you’ve chosen to play on. The money for your purchase will be deducted from your e-wallet as soon as you checkout.

On banking apps, the money will be automatically deducted from your bank account once you’ve accepted your purchase. You’ll then receive a digital receipt for your payment. Your numbers will then be sent to you either via email or by SMS.

Wait for the Draw and Check Your Numbers

When you’re done paying for your ticket, the next thing to do is sit back and wait for the draw to take place. You can either watch the draw live on SABC 2 or you can view the results on the National Lottery website. You can also check results on national news websites such as News24 or simply check reputable lottery sites.

Results and winning numbers

Source: Lottoland

Tips on How to Win the South Africa Lotto Jackpot

Even though the South Africa Lotto has better odds compared to other lottery games around the world, it can still be difficult to win the jackpot prize. Here are some times on how to increase your chances of winning the jackpot whether you’re a local or a foreigner.

Buy Tickets Consistently

Lottery experts such as Richard Lustig always stated that one of the best ways to increase your chances of winning the lottery is to play consistently. Create a budget and consider playing at least one game a week.

You should also then buy more than one board at a time. Plan to spend at least R20 per week on the lottery so you have more of a chance of winning the jackpot. But also make sure that you have the budget to spend money on lottery tickets every week.

Create or Join a Syndicate

If you don’t always have the money to play the South Africa Lotto every Wednesday or Saturday, then consider creating or joining a syndicate.

A lottery syndicate is a group of people who pool their money together to buy lottery tickets. By doing this, they increase their chances of winning the lottery without having to spend a lot of money individually.

The winnings are then split equally among the members of the syndicate. Lottery syndicates can be formed by friends, family members, or even co-workers. They can be informal or formal, with written agreements outlining the terms and conditions of the syndicate.

Joining a lottery syndicate can be a fun and exciting way to participate in the lottery, but it’s important to choose your syndicate members carefully and establish clear rules to avoid any conflicts or misunderstandings.

Look at Statistics for Each Number

Lottery number statistics refer to the analysis of data related to lottery numbers. This includes the frequency of particular numbers being drawn, the probability of certain number combinations, and the distribution of numbers across different lotteries.

By analyzing this data, players can develop strategies for choosing their numbers and potentially increase their chances of winning.

Choose Your Numbers Wisely

When selecting your numbers, it’s important to avoid commonly chosen numbers, such as birthdays or anniversaries, as these are often chosen by many others and can decrease your odds of winning. Additionally, it’s important to consider the odds of each number being chosen, as some numbers may be drawn more frequently than others.

Taking the time to carefully select your lottery numbers can make a significant difference in your chances of winning and potentially change your life with a large jackpot.

Consider Creating Your Own Number Combinations

One of the best ways to play this South African lottery is by using combinations of hot and cold numbers. There are many ways you can create combinations with these numbers such as using a wheeling system.

You can also generate numbers using a number prediction algorithm created through Excel. You’ll simply create the algorithm on a spreadsheet and then enter your chosen numbers to get hundreds or even thousands of possible combinations that may come up in the next draw.

Try the Law of Attraction

Are you the spiritual kind? Then perhaps visualizing your desires may attract a jackpot win. Many spiritual players decide to use the law of attraction to play the lottery.

The law of attraction is a belief that states that a person’s thoughts and feelings can directly influence the events and circumstances that they experience in their life. This idea is based on the concept that the universe is made up of energy and that people can attract positive or negative energy based on their thoughts and emotions.

According to this law, if a person focuses on positive thoughts and feelings, they will attract positive experiences and outcomes. Conversely, if they focus on negative thoughts and feelings, they will attract negative experiences and outcomes.

The law of attraction is often associated with the practice of visualization and affirmations, as a way to focus on positive outcomes and attract the desired results. With this knowledge you can visualize winning the lottery and how you’d feel if you won the jackpot prize.

Final Thoughts

Playing the South Africa Lotto is a fun and exciting way to potentially win big. By following the 7 steps outlined in this guide, beginners can easily learn how to play and increase their chances of winning. Remember to always play responsibly and within your means. Good luck and have fun!

FAQs

Has anyone ever won the South Africa Lotto Jackpot?

Yes, there have been many jackpot winners of the South Africa Lotto since it started in 2000. Some winners have won as much as R200 million while others have won R43 million. You can win the jackpot if you match all 6 numbers on your ticket.

Has anyone ever won the South Africa Lotto using a quick pick?

Yes, there have been many winners who’ve won jackpot prizes from the South Africa Lotto using the quick pick option. The most notable story was about a man from Pretoria who won R32 million with his computer-generated numbers.

Can non-residents play the South Africa Lotto?

Yes, non-residents can play South African lotteries through various online lottery services or by purchasing tickets in person while visiting South Africa. However, it’s important to note that there may be different rules and regulations for claiming prizes as a non-resident.

Which is the best way to play the South Africa Lotto?

The best way to play the South Africa Lotto is through the official lottery website or through your banking app. This allows players to buy tickets or boards without leaving the comfort of their own homes or having to draw money simply to buy a ticket from the store.

Is the South African lottery website reliable?

Yes, the South African lottery website is extremely reliable. You can get information about how many numbers to choose, how the lottery works and what the latest results are. The site has no downtime so you can access information on the site at any time of the day or night.

Does the South Africa Lotto offer an annuity option?

Yes, the South Africa Lotto does offer an annuity option. This option allows the winner to receive their winnings in yearly installments over a predetermined period of time instead of receiving a lump sum payment. The annuity option is a popular choice among lottery winners as it provides a steady and guaranteed income stream over a longer period of time.