60% of SA lotto players earn R10 000 or less a month
South Africa's lottery survey and statistics have provided some rare insights into the state of lottery in the country.
A recent countrywide survey with more than 3 000 random participants delivered a shocking reality check about lotto players in South Africa. The survey was conducted between November 2018 and February 2019 by UNISA’s Bureau of Market Research.
The research showed that 42% of the players have a monthly income of less than R5 000 per month and 6,5% of the 42% only have a monthly income of R1 000 or less. Overall 60% of lotto ticket buyers have a monthly household income of less than R10 000. It further reflected that 29% of the lottery players receive a social grant and that 28% of the people are unemployed. This shows that players can’t afford to buy tickets for the rare chance of a big win. With 52 balls to choose from your chances of winning is 20 million to 1.
25% of the participants also confessed that they spend more on their lotto tickets than their budget allows them to and 30% described their behaviour as impulsive when they buy tickets. 1 in every 5 players also experience disapproval from their friends and family for playing lottery activities.
When it comes to the amount that they spend on lotto tickets, 24% buy between R21 and R50 per month and a third spend between R51 and R150. Of course, you want to increase your chances when it comes to the big amounts, so people spend 1.7 times more when there is more to win.
Who is feeling luckier?
According to the survey with over 3 000 countrywide participants, females will rather buy a Lotto ticket (90.2%) than males (89.3%). And men will rather purchase a PowerBall ticket (77,2%) than women (69,7%). People between the ages of 36 and 40 buy the most Lotto tickets (94,3%) and people between 26 and 30 years buy the most PowerBall tickets (81,0%).
South African lotto players placing bets across border
More and more South Africans are comfortable to play international lotteries. South African players don’t just buy their tickets locally anymore. Research from the survey with over 3 000 respondents, showed that most participants who bet on the outcome of foreign lotteries make use of bookmakers (online betting operators).
The research showed that the confidence of winning foreign lotteries is much higher than any other national lottery game. Below is a table that shows the percentage of what the survey participants think are their chances of winning.
| Lotto RSA | PowerBall RSA | Foreign Lotteries | Betting on the outcome of foreign lotteries | |
| Very Good | 7,7% | 8,8% | 19,3% | 5,1% |
| Good | 15,5% | 14,6% | 44,6% | 10,3% |
| Average | 31,7% | 28,9% | 30,1% | 84,6% |
| Poor | 27,0% | 30,9% | 3,6% | 0% |
| Very Poor | 18,1% | 16,8% | 2,4% | 0% |
According to the findings of the respondents’ optimism of winning, it is reasonable to think that it is easier to win foreign events. Your overall odds of winning international lotteries are much higher than national games. Here are your odds of winning any prize when you place your bet on the following events:
- French Lotto – 1 in 6
- UK Lotto – 1 in 9.3
- Spanish Lotto – 1 in 10
- Austrian Lotto – 1 in 12
- EuroMillions – 1 in 13
- Powerball South Africa – 1 in 36
- Lotto South Africa – 1 in 96
The survey also delivered the following interesting facts;
| Foreign Lotteries | Betting on the outcome of foreign lotteries | |
| South African Participants | 7,7% | 3,6% |
| Main age group | Age 41 – 45 (10,4%) | Age 41 – 45 (5,8%) |
| Province | Gauteng 15,7% | Eastern Cape 7,5% |
