The results for the South African national lottery are announced every Wednesday and Saturday night after the live public draw. The draw is televised and the results are announced as each ball is drawn. For thousands of South Africans who buy Lotto and Lotto Plus tickets every week, the Lotto results are very important and generate much excitement. This can be seen by the amount of celebrities who have been present at the draws in the past.
There are two draws each Wednesday and Saturday night. The first one is for the Lotto, which is the main attraction and is the game that brings in the most entries and has the highest jackpot and prize money. The second one is the Lotto Plus. The Lotto Plus was added onto the existing Lotto draw as a way to generate more funds and to give people another chance to win some money. Lotto tickets will set you back R5.00 a piece and if you opt to play the Lotto Plus as well, an additional charge of R1.50 is required. The Lotto and Lotto Plus is therefore very affordable to play and since it is a game of chance, there is no need for first time gamblers to worry. This is why the Lotto has overtaken casino gambling in popularity.
Players may enter the Lotto Plus draw only once they have entered into the main Lotto draw, as the Lotto Plus draw does not stand on its own as a lottery. It is therefore impossible to only enter into the Lotto Plus.
Players pick six numbers for the Lotto draw and the go to their nearest lottery terminal to get their official ticket. Lottery terminals are located all around the country, with most large stores having at least one terminal. At these terminals, you hand in your ticket together with your money and then all you have to do is wait for the results to be released. Even though players only pick six numbers for the draw, the lottery machine actually draws seven balls, giving players an extra number to use. This is known as a bonus ball.