In South Africa, the national lottery numbers refer to the seven numbers that are drawn every Wednesday and Saturday evening for the South African national lottery. Players enter into the Lotto and Lotto Plus draws and then eagerly await the live draws that are televised to the public on the aforementioned evenings. Players select six numbers for the Lotto draw and then wait to see what the six winning numbers and the bonus ball will be.
The Lotto is incredibly simple to play and it is very affordable for South Africans of all socio-economic groups. The Lotto ticket costs only R5.00. Players choose their six numbers from the range of fourty-nine numbers. They can get their Lotto tickets at any of the lottery terminals that are conveniently located all around the country. Once they have selected their six winning numbers, they are offered the opportunity of entering into an additional draw. For an extra R1.50, players can stand a chance to win again – using the same numbers they chose for the main Lotto draw.
The extra R1.50 they pay guarantees their entry into the Lotto Plus. The Lotto Plus doesn’t offer the same jackpot or prize money as the Lotto, but it does give people another affordable way to enjoy their Lotto experience and possible make a profit. It is necessary to first enter the Lotto draw before being able to enter the Lotto Plus draw. The Lotto Plus is not a stand-alone lottery draw so it therefore cannot be entered on its own.
The Lotto Plus draw takes place after the Lotto draw, and even though players enter the same numbers into both draws, the lottery machines choose two different sets of numbers – one for the Lotto and one for the Lotto Plus draw. These draws are considered to be random and fair and are free of any human influence or tampering. To ensure this, the University of Witwatersrand tests the machines and ball sets on a regular basis. The balls are especially important and are tested after every fifth draw. This is to make sure that the size, shape and weight of the balls remain the same.