A Guide to Online Lotto in South Africa
As almost all South Africans will know, the lottery is quite a big deal! Many punters tend to swarm the stores to buy their tickets before the lotto results are drawn on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 21:00. However, online lottery is quickly growing in popularity. When playing online lotto, you will have many more options to choose from and be able to play daily. Pick your online lottery numbers and see if destiny is on your side.
Table of Contents[]
- The History of South African Lottery
- The Legalities of Buying Online Lotto Tickets
- What to Look for In an Online Lottery Casino in South Africa
- Breakdown of Payment Methods for Online Lotto
- How to Play Online Lotto in South Africa
- Different Types of Online Lottery in South Africa
- Play Online Lotto for Free
- Pros & Cons of Playing Online Lottery
- FAQ
The History of South African Lottery
Despite all forms of gambling becoming legal in 1994, the National Lottery of South Africa was only launched on 2 March 2000 by former president Thabo Mbeki, in Cape Town. This led to the first-ever lottery draw to take place on 11 March 2000.
In 2009, South Africa announced that there would now be a PowerBall lottery where the first-ever draw took place on October 23, 2009. As it stands, the Powerball is one of the biggest jackpot lotteries in South Africa with the most ever won so far being R232,131,750.69. This is more than anyone has ever won for the regular lottery in South Africa.
The Legalities of Buying Online Lotto Tickets
Many South African punters may be asking themselves if it’s legal to purchase lottery tickets online, and the simple answer is yes! Lottery tickets are sold by the thousands, daily, and players are enjoying the simplicity and ease of doing so online.
What to Look for In an Online Lottery Casino in South Africa
You obviously want to gamble safely and securely, so you shouldn’t just jump to the first South African casino site you lay your eyes on. You need to do some research on various online casinos and see which sites have the best aspects to benefit you as a player and customer of the site.
If you cannot find an online South African casino site that offers everything you’re looking for, all hope isn’t lost. You can simply search for offshore casino sites that accept South African players and see if they’re able to offer you everything you’re looking for. You should note that gambling at offshore casinos is illegal for South Africans, however, this hasn’t stopped the offshore sites from allowing South African players to join. If you choose this route, it is advised to do so safely and to use a VPN.
Casino Licence
First and foremost, check if the casino holds a reputable casino licence by the appropriate regulatory bodies. The NGB (National Gambling Board) oversees online gambling in South Africa.Safe & Secure
You’ll be needing to provide the casino with personal and financial information, so make sure it has the latest SSL Encryption technology and up-to-date security protocols in place.Games
Choose a casino that has all the casino games that excite you. Besides offering online lottery games, make sure they also offer other games you enjoy such as fun slots or perhaps some table games, whatever you may enjoy.Bonuses & Promotions
There’s nothing better than getting some mouth-watering bonuses. Choose casinos that offer welcome bonuses that are useful to you. Also, look at the bonuses they have available for returning customers. These can include cashback bonuses, reload bonuses and free spins. Another thing to keep your eyes open for promotions that may run monthly, weekly or even daily.Mobile Availability
Choosing a casino site that offers you the chance to game on the go is definitely the way to go! We all know it isn’t always easy to sit behind a computer all day. Sometimes you just want to go lay in your bed and play on your phone. Thankfully, many online casinos have been fully optimised to work on mobile devicesPayment Methods
A very important point to look out for is the offered payment methods. While credit cards may be a very popular choice at South African casinos. However, this may not be the method you wish to make use of. Check what other methods are available at online casinos.Use Only the Best Online Lotto Payment Methods
Before playing online lottery, you’ll need to find an online casino that offers it. Thankfully, there are more than enough casinos that offer lotto online. When choosing your online lottery casino, there are a few things you need to look for, and as mentioned above, one of them is the accepted payment methods at a casino.
Choosing a casino that offers your preferred payment method is always a winner! Apart from the actual payment method being available, you should also look at whether or not the certain payment method is accepted for both deposits and withdrawals, the fees involved as well as the transaction times. Let’s go over some of the most popular payment methods for South Africans playing the lotto online.
Regardless of which payment method you decide to use when purchasing your online lotto tickets, always make sure that you read up on all the terms and conditions involved for deposits and withdrawals.
Breakdown of Payment Methods for Online Lotto
| PAYMENT METHOD | FEES | DEPOSIT TIME | WITHDRAWAL TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISA | 1.3-3.5% | Instant | 1-3 Days |
| MasterCard | Varies | Instant | 2-5 Days |
| Bitcoin | Low to none | Instant | Instant |
| Skrill | 0-5% | Instant | 2-48 Hours |
| PayPal | None | Instant | 2-48 Hours |
How to Play Online Lotto in South Africa
When it comes to lottery online, there really isn’t too much. It is a game of pure chance and is easy to play. Online lotto will probably be one of the easiest online casino games you’ll ever learn. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to play online lotto.
- 1Sign up & register / login to your favourite online casino site
- 2Deposit money into your casino account
- 3Choose your preferred online lotto game
- 4Select your betting amount
- 5Select your preferred numbers
- 6Wait for the online lotto results
No Taxation on Online Lottery Winnings in South Africa
As many South Africans are well aware, individuals need to pay tax needs on most things in life. However, punters throughout South Africa can rejoice in the fact that any and all winnings made from lotto online are theirs to keep! Yes, that’s right, you won’t need to pay any tax on winnings made from playing online lottery.
Different Types of Online Lottery in South Africa
Just as you get various types of lotto you can play at a store, such as the Daily Lotto or the PowerBall, there are even more lotteries available online. Apart from the above-mentioned lotteries, which are also available online, you can also play Keno Lottery, Poker Lottery and Bingo Lottery. Let’s go into each of them a little bit more.
South Africa Daily Lotto Online
The Daily Lotto is played by selecting five numbers between 1 and 36. You can either choose any five numbers you want or select the Quick Pick option where 5 random numbers will be chosen for you. You will get a chance to win thousands every day if you play the Daily Lotto where draws are held every night at 21:00 SAST.What’s better is that if there’s no winner that matches the online lotto results, it will become a secondary prize for players who have matched 4 numbers. If there’s no match, it rolls on to a 3-match and so on.Many might believe that there isn’t much to win with the Daily Lotto online, but that’s definitely not the case. On 7 July 2019, a player won an amazing R118,685.50. Many players enjoy playing the Daily Lotto as you have a 1 in 7.6 chance of winning, however, there aren’t many online casinos that offer this option.South African PowerBall Online
This is definitely the biggest type of lottery in South Africa that most residents partake in. When playing PowerBall, you will be required to choose five numbers ranging from 1 to 50 as well as a PowerBall number that ranges from 1 to 20. Much like the Daily Lotto, you will also be able to select the Quick Pick feature. The PowerBall lotto results are held every Tuesday and Friday at 21:00 SAST.Online Keno Lottery
Online Keno is a game akin to the lottery that rewards instant wins. Many punters enjoy playing the Keno lottery online because of its fast-paced notion. The best way to explain Keno is that it’s a mixture of Lottery and Bingo. Depending on the version of Keno that you choose to play, you’ll need to select 5-20 numbers ranging from 1 to 80. A certain amount of numbered balls will then fall, and you get paid for each of the online lotto results that match your picked numbers.Online Poker Lottery
Poker Lotto has a nice and exciting switch up from regular lotto in the sense that cards are used instead of numbers. Despite the name, you won’t need any knowledge of Poker in order to partake in this lotto online. Instead of having numbers that match the lotto results, you will have to match cards from those drawn.Online Bingo Lottery
Overall, online bingo will work quite similarly to each other, however, there might be a few minor differences depending on the variation of Bingo you choose to play online. You will be required to purchase bingo tickets that already have a certain amount of random numbers on them.Bingo balls will then one-by-one appear with numbers on them. You will need to see if your ticket has this number and cross it out by clicking on it. Whoever matches all the numbers on their ticket first, wins. There are often also prizes for second and third place.Lottery Scratch Cards
One of the most popular forms of scratch cards are by far the Lottery Scratch Cards. You’ll receive a card and will need to virtually scratch it to reveal numbers or symbols, depending on the type of lottery scratch card you’re playing.Play Online Lotto for Free
Punters will be jumping for joy when they hear they can actually play the online lotto for free. Whilst most online casino games in free/demo mode don’t allow you to win real money, the complete opposite is the case when it comes to Free Lottery.
The Free Lotto runs daily and has no hidden fees anywhere. It is completely free! You are required to choose six numbers between 1 and 75. You only win if all 6 numbers are matched. Follow the following steps to play online lotto for free:
- Sign up to an online casino site that offers Free Lottery
- Deposit money into your account
- Head over to the Free Lottery game
- Pick your 6 numbers
- Confirm your numbers
There are 2 types of free online lotto games, the daily and the weekly. If you play both, you’ll have the chance to play the Free Lotto 8 times a week. You will have the chance to win an estimated R9,500 every day, as well as an estimated R193,500 per week as a jackpot.
If you do win, you’ll need to contact the Free Lottery within 2 days of the winning draw. Your money will be paid out via a cheque and sent through the mail to the postal address you used when signing up for your casino account.
Increase Your Chances of Winning with These Tips
Hundreds of thousands of rands in prizes are awarded each month by lottery games, which are very popular and easy to play. If you play online lottery games, you might be surprised to discover how easy it may be to win those life-changing jackpots. Let’s go over some tips and tricks that have the potential to increase your chances of winning.
First and foremost, you will need to choose the right online lottery game for you. There are plenty of various types for you to choose from and each will come with its own perks and downfalls. The various online lotto games have different odds and payouts.
It is advised to play the smaller and less popular online lottery games. The reason for this is because the smaller online lottery games will often have higher odds of winning, however, the payouts will be smaller than the larger games. Despite this, the payout amount can still be life-changing.
Be conscious of the numbers you choose if the online lottery game allows for it. Try not to pick numbers that are consecutive as these rarely ever appear. Along with this, try and choose numbers across the whole range of numbers. For example:
Choose 5 numbers between 1 and 60: 7, 16, 22, 39, 52
Choose 10 numbers between 1 and 80: 2, 11, 27, 31, 44, 59, 68, 77
Many punters tend to choose numbers that reflect a certain date such as birthdays and anniversaries. For this reason, it would be advised to choose numbers greater than 31, as these are often less likely to be chosen.
You will increase your chances of winning if you buy multiple online lottery tickets, as long as it’s within your budget, as this will instantly increase your chances of winning.
A great idea when playing the online lotto is to bring a big group of friends in. You all pool some money in and buy as many tickets as possible, and then share the winnings amongst yourselves. R1 million, for example, does sound amazing to keep towards yourself but if you get 3 other people to join in, your chances of winning increase instantly, and you will have a shot at winning R250,000 all for yourself.
Pros & Cons of Playing Online Lottery
If you’ve not yet played any form of lottery, then you’re in for a great time! Before jumping in, it is great to know the ins and outs of all forms of lottery online. Luckily for you, we’ve gathered the main pros and cons of playing online lotto.
- You’ll be set for life
- Can’t lose your online lotto ticket
- Secure payments
- Convinient
- Instantly notified of winnings
- Chances of winning are low
- Large winning amount could negatively affect your life
- Can get boring after playing long-term
As we can see from the above table, there are a lot more pros than cons when it comes to playing online lotto. The cons that are involved are the regular cons that could come with playing any other online casino game.
Our Final Thoughts About Online Lotto
If you’re looking for a numbers game of choice, then online lotto might be perfect for you! There’s no strategy involved, and you just get to have fun while hoping to match numbers. When looking for casinos with online lotto, you won’t have to look long seeing as it’s such a popular game in South Africa.
If you’re looking for the best online lottery sites, then have a look at our recommended list mentioned early on in this article – you won’t go wrong with any of these sites. So why not sign-up to an online lotto casino today and see why this beginner-friendly game is as popular as it is in South Africa.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Lottery
The South African gambling law states that you have to be 18 years or older in order to partake in any form of gambling, land-based or online.
Yes. You can legally play lotto online at South African casinos.
It is very easy to grasp the concept of online lotto. Ultimately, it’ll depend on which lottery game you choose to play, but most of them require you to choose a certain amount of numbers from a given range. You’ll then need to wait and hope that your chosen numbers match those drawn.
No! All forms of lotteries are non-taxable, meaning you get to keep everything you’ve won in full.
This will ultimately depend on which lottery game you play, but one lottery board can cost as little as R2.50 each.
As it stands, the biggest Lottery game in South Africa is the PowerBall, where the most ever won was R232,131,750.69 by a gentleman in his 50s.
There are so many different types of lotteries available to play online. Some of them include PowerBall, Daily Lotto, Keno Lottery, Bingo Lottery and Poker Lottery.
The major con to playing any form of lottery is that the odds are extremely low to win.