Lotteries are among the most social and accessible ways for Australians to gamble with real money. They are also incredibly lucrative, as a ticket worth a handful of pocket change can put you in the running to win millions of dollars.
The advent of Internet gaming has made it easier than ever for Aussies to play the lottery. Instead of trekking down to your local newsagents and mucking around with tiny pencils and paper slips, you can simply jump online and buy tickets for all the major lotto draws without ever having to set foot outside your house.
PlayLottoOnline.com.au is all about bringing you the best information and advice on Australia’s richest lotto games. We will explain how lotteries work, how to play and where you can buy lottery tickets online.
We’ll also keep you up to date with the latest lotto news from around the country, including where to find special deals on the biggest cash jackpots.
Lottery games in Australia
Every Australian state and territory runs licensed lottery games, the vast majority of which can be played via the Web. Some are unique to specific regions, but most of the big names are now played all over the nation.
Listed below are the most popular Australian lottery games available at our trusted Internet retailers. The beauty of buying lotto tickets online is that you can play any and all of these national and local jackpot draws, no matter where in Australia you hail from.
Saturday Lotto – Also known as TattLotto (VIC, TAS, NT), X Lotto (SA) and Gold Lotto (QLD), the Saturday Lotto draw is syndicated all over the country by Tatts Group Limited. Six main numbers and two supplementaries are drawn, and there are six prize divisions.
Monday & Wednesday Lotto – The Monday Lotto and Wednesday Lotto are identical to the weekend draw, except for a slightly different prize pool structure. Each runs once a week, in all states and territories.
Oz Lotto – Also owned by the Tatts Group, Oz Lotto was introduced in 1994 as the first Australian lottery game available in all regions. First division jackpots are guaranteed at AUD $2,000,000 minimum, and drawings occur every Tuesday night.
Powerball – Although it has only existed since 1996, the weekly Powerball draw is now one of Australia’s richest and most popular lotto games. It was the first national lotto game to use a seventh ball, drawn from a separate barrel, and features eight prize divisions. Drawings take place every Thursday evening.
Lotto Strike and Super 66 – These are companion pieces to Saturday, Monday and Wednesday Lotto which can be played when you also purchase tickets for any of those drawings. New South Wales plays Lotto Strike, while the rest of the country uses the Super 66 format.
Australian Soccer Pools – This is a unique take on the lotto where the winning numbers are determined by the results of 38 football fixtures from all over the globe. The Soccer Pools lottery is drawn every Saturday.
Lucky Lotteries – The $2 Super Jackpot and $5 Mega Jackpot are both traditional raffle lotteries where the winners are determined by randomly drawn ticket numbers. Games are called at the NSW Lotteries offices as soon as all the allotted tickets have been sold, with more than 11,000 prizes to be won each time.
Buying lotto tickets online
There are many benefits to purchasing lottery tickets via the Internet. For one, you won’t lose your numbers. All purchases are recorded digitally and sent to you via email, so there is no risk of that little bit of paper falling behind the couch cushions or getting mixed up with your old grocery receipts.
For another, you can play games that might not otherwise be available in your state or territory. If you live in Victoria and prefer Lotto Strike to Super 66, for instance, that option is open to you when you play Australian lotteries online.
All ticket types are available at the best Internet lotto sites. Prices start as low as $0.70 for a single game, and you can choose from the following options:
- Standard tickets – A standard game consists of a single line of numbers which gives you one shot to win. You can buy as many standard lotto tickets as you like, although many draws require a minimum purchase of two or more games.
- Syndicate tickets – Popular in offices, clubs and social groups, lotto syndicates are a cost-effective way to cover myriad combinations without spending a small fortune. Each stake bought gets you an even share of all syndicate winnings.
- System tickets – This all-in option covers every possible combination of your chosen numbers. A Saturday Lotto System 9, for example, gives you 84 standard six-number games. Larger system entries can be expensive, and so are often best played via syndicates.
- Super Combo tickets – These are similar to lotto systems, but they don’t give you every single combination of your selected digits. As such, Super Combos are a more affordable way to play a multitude of games on your own.
Secure deposit options at Australian lotto sites
Before you can buy that golden ticket, you need to open an account at a trusted AUD lottery site and add some funds. Signing up takes only a minute, and the best online lotto retailers offer several instant deposit options for the Australian dollar:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Diners Club International
- PayPal
- BPay
We only recommend lottery websites which take online banking security and anti-fraud protocols seriously. If you’re ever in doubt, look for phrases like ‘accredited reseller’ and ‘safe and secure’ on the homepage. If the operator is fully licensed and uses a 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) digital encryption, like each of our suggested sites, you can rest assured that your cash and personal info is in safe hands.
Play Lotto via iPhone & Android
Yes, you can purchase Australian lottery tickets on any smartphone or tablet product. The top-ranked mobile lotto sites are compatible with all major operating systems, including Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad), Google Android (Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia, HTC One, et cetera), Windows Phone and BlackBerry. You can even purchase lotto entries on some older mobile phones which use WAP or Symbian technology.
History of the lottery
The lottery is among the world’s most ancient forms of gambling. The earliest evidence dates way back to around 205 BC, when keno games were used as fundraising initiatives by the Han Dynasty of China – much as modern-day governments, at both state and federal level, often deploy lotto games and sweepstakes in lieu of tax hikes.
There are recorded references to raffle activities in both Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, but the first major European lotto games took place in Belgium and the Netherlands during the 15th century – again, primarily to raise revenue for public projects and civilian welfare. Thus, the English word “lottery” is derived from the Dutch “lot”, which translates as “fate”.
Lotto draws spread all over Europe from the Renaissance era onwards, despite King Francis I’s disastrous fundraising attempts in the mid 16th century. Public lotteries were established in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, while private sweepstakes helped finance the colonial settlements of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Cash lotto has existed in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria since the late 1800s, although these were soon stamped out due to gambling prohibition. The first true national lottery appeared in 1916, when the Federal Government of Australia commissioned the Golden Casket Art Union to raise money for WWI veterans and other charity projects.
Now, there are more than a half a dozen major lottery games played all over Australia, many of which offer first division jackpots in excess of $1,000,000. The largest lottery win in Aussie history was a stunning AUD $111.97 million Oz Lotto jackpot, split between four ticket-holders in 2012.