Australia Lottery (Oz Lotto)
Australia’s first lottery was a private unsanctioned sweepstake which took place in Sydney towards the end of the 19th century. However, the game was deemed illegal and quickly shut down despite efforts to move it to other locations. Then in 1916, the first official lottery was established by the Australian government. Dubbed, ‘The Golden Casket Art Union’, much of the proceeds acquired through ticket sales were donated to various charities and projects. Today it’s known as the OZ Lotto and is administered by the Tatts Group.
The Games and Odds
OZ Lotto (7/45, last 2 numbers are supplementary) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 45,379,620
Powerball (6/40 + 1/20) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 76,767,600
Monday Lotto (6/45, last 2 numbers are supplementary) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 8,145,060
Wednesday Lotto (6/45, last 2 numbers are supplementary) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 8,145,060
Saturday Lotto (6/45, last 2 numbers are supplementary) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 8,145,060
The Pools (6/38) – Odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 2,760,681
Oz Lotto
Oz Lotto is Australia’s main lottery game and requires participants to pick 7 numbers from 1 to 45. 9 balls are actually drawn with the first 7 considered the winning numbers. The last 2 balls are supplementary and determine prizes for those who’ve matched 3 to 6 numbers. The jackpot odds are 45,379,620to 1 although the chances of winning a division prize with the supplementary numbers are only 1 in 87.
Oz Lotto Ticket
The standard Oz Lotto ticket comprises 12 panels in which players can choose their numbers for up to 12 games. Each panel includes boxes numbered from 1 – 45 and a systems option which provides players with every combination of the numbers they have chosen, thus increasing their odds of winning.
• Biggest Payout: $111 million
• Draw Days: Tuesday
How to be an Oz Lotto Winner
- 7 correct numbers – Division 1 Prize (Guaranteed $2 million)
- 6 correct numbers with 1 or 2 supplementary numbers– Division 2 Prize
- 6 correct numbers – Division 3 Prize
- 5 correct numbers with 1 or 2 supplementary numbers – Division 4 Prize
- 5 correct numbers – Division 5 Prize
- 4 correct numbers – Division 6 Prize
- 3 correct numbers with 1 or 2 supplementary numbers– Division 7 Prize
Powerball
Australian Powerball is based on the American game of the same name but instead follows a 6/40 + 1/20 format. Six numbers are drawn from a pot of 40 and an additional ‘power-ball’ is taken from a pool of 20. It features a jackpot of $80 million and a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 76,767,600 to 1 although winning a division prize is only 1 in 110.
Powerball Lottery Ticket
An Australian Powerball ticket consists of 5 game boardswith 40 boxes for the main number selection. Beneath these are the Powerball panels, labelled 1 – 20. As is usually the case with lottery tickets, a quick pick option is also available for players wanting to rely on randomly generated numbers.
- Biggest Payout: $58 million
- Draw Days: Thursday
How to be a Powerball Winner
- 6 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 1 Prize (Guaranteed $3 million)
- 6 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 2 Prize
- 5 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 3 Prize
- 5 correct numbers – Division 4 Prize
- 4 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 5 Prize
- 3 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 6 Prize
- 4 correct numbers – Division 7 Prize
- 2 correct numbers with Powerball – Division 8 Prize
Saturday, Monday and Wednesday Lottos
The Saturday, Monday and Wednesday Lottos are syndicated games whichfollow a 6/45 games format and incorporate the supplementary numbers system favoured by the OZ Lotto operator. So for each draw, 8 numbers are extracted of which the last two are supplementary. The chances of winning the jackpot stand at a fairly reasonable 1 in 8,145,060, in comparison to other lotteries. However, as is the case with Powerball, the odds of landing a division prize are much more favourable at 1 in 144.
- Biggest Payout: ?
- Draw Days: Saturday, Monday, Wednesday
Saturday, Monday and Wednesday Tickets
Lottery tickets/number slips for the Saturday, Monday and Wednesday lotteries are fairly typical in layout with 45 numbered boxes arranged in 12 game boards.
How to be a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday Lotto Winner
- 6 correct numbers – Division 1 Prize(Estimated $4 million)
- 5 correct numbers with 1 or 2 supplementary numbers – Division 2 Prize
- 5 correct numbers – Division 3 Prize
- 4 correct numbers – Division 4 Prize
- 3 correct numbers with 1 or 2 supplementary numbers – Division 5 Prize
- 1 or 2 numbers with 2 supplementary numbers – Division 6 Prize
The Pools
The Pools is a lottery game which involves Australian and European football matches. 6 numbers are drawn from 38 balls which are numbered according to the final score in 38 matches. The 6 games resulting in the highest total drawn score are designated as the winning numbers. An additional supplementary number is decided by the 7th highest scoring game.
- Biggest Payout: ?
- Draw Day: Monday
How to win the Pools
- 6 correct numbers – Division 1 Prize
- 5 correct numbers with the supplementary number – Division 2 Prize
- 5 correct numbers – Division 3 Prize
- 4 correct numbers – Division 4 Prize
- 3 correct numbers with the supplementary number – Division 5 Prize
Biggest Ever Lottery Win in Australia: $111 million (Oz Lotto)
In November 2012a jackpot of $111 million was paid out to four lucky winners of the Oz Lotto. The winners included two families and a syndicate of 80 people. The draw attracted over 8 million players throughout Australia with an estimated 400, 000 tickets sold every hour.
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