Each week, thousands of South Africans buy tickets for the South African national lottery. The Lotto has become more popular than casino gambling since it was first introduced to the South African public in 2000. The Lotto offers a highly affordable, accessible and simple way for people to gamble and perhaps even increase their own personal fortune. The Lotto is, by nature, a game of chance. The South African variant requires that players choose six out of fourty-nine numbers to play with. The fourty-nine numbers are in numerical order, from one to fourty-nine.
Each week, there are two lottery draws. On Wednesday and Saturday nights, South Africans can watch the live lotto draws and see the lotto results for that day. The results are also posted online and printed in newspapers. Many retailers that have lottery terminals also display the results for that day.
The main draw Lotto was originally the only draw that happened each week, but now the South African national lottery has also added a second draw, known as the Lotto Plus. This is a secondary draw that does not lure as much prize money as the primary draw and also has a smaller jackpot. This is because the Lotto Plus is a second chance for players to use their Lotto numbers. For an additional R1.50, players can enter their Lotto numbers into the Lotto Plus draw. The draw usually takes place after the main Lotto draw. Like the main Lotto draw, six numbers and a seventh bonus number is drawn. If you would like to take part in the Lotto Plus draw, you have to first buy a regular main draw Lotto ticket. These sell for R5.00.
The result for the Lotto and Lotto Plus draws are entirely random. To ensure that a pattern does not develop in the results or that the machines are not tampered with, the South African national lottery makes use of several different machines and balls sets. These are reviewed by and independent auditor and both the balls and the machine are regularly tested to ensure that the lotto results always remain random.