French Lotto and South African Powerball compared

Lotto is the most popular lottery in South Africa, but Powerball has become more popular in the last few years due to its high pay-outs. However, the popularity of the French Lotto has also been increasing due to its high jackpots and higher odds of winning the jackpot compared to the PowerBall.  

PowerBall

When it was launched, the PowerBall jackpot draw required players to pick five main numbers from 1 to 45 and one ‘PowerBall’ number from 1 to 20 for an entry fee of R5 per board.

Prizes could be won by matching the main numbers, with matches of the PowerBall number winning higher prizes. The top prize of the game could be won by matching all five main numbers as well as the PowerBall. Draws take place on Tuesdays and Fridays at 20:58 Central African Time (CAT).

After 28 November 2015, odds were changed as more possibilities to win were introduced. An example of the recent additions were, if the player matched only the Powerball, he or she would win money, while before, that ticket would not win anything. In addition, the number of main balls was raised from 45 to 50.

The record prize for any Lottery game in South Africa was in PowerBall at R102,016,595. This prize was won in the Free State but never collected. The highest claimed prize was also from PowerBall at R91,068,427 PowerBall PLUS is exactly the same as PowerBall, but gives the player a second chance to win. When buying a PowerBall ticket, the player must pay an extra R2.50 per board to enter the PowerBall PLUS draw. Odds are the same, while prizes are usually slightly lower.  

Below are the odds of winning the PowerBall PLUS and the PowerBall.  

French Lotto

Another popular lotto in South Africa is the French Lotto as it has higher chances of winning a prize due to the fact it has three draws per week.  

The French Lotto is drawn at 21h18 SAST (South African Standard Time) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, meaning the tier 1 prize grows 50% faster than lotto’s that only offer 2 draws per week!  

It uses a double-matric system to randomly pick winning numbers for each draw and offers remarkable odds. With each roll over, roughly another R16 million (€1 million) is added to the pot.  

You need to match all five main numbers and the lucky number to hit the main prize. The French Lotto offers eight additional prize divisions, ranging from matching just the lucky number to matching all five numbers, which is why the chances of winning a prize are so high.  

The minimum pay-out is roughly R31.5 million (€2million) and the maximum jackpot anyone can bank is roughly €36 million which is over half a billion Rand!   R545.7 (€30,000,000) was the largest single-ticket jackpot in the French Lotto, won on 04 December 2021.  

To check if you have won the French Jackpot, you can check the French Lotto results after each draw.   Below are the odds of winning the different prize tiers for the French Lotto.  

So, although the maximum pay out for the French Lotto is lower than the PowerBall, there are still better odds on becoming the new millionaire in your hometown.  

Last year, a lucky individual ended their year on a high after winning R545.7 million after realising they had the five correct numbers plus the bonus ball. This has been the highest winning French Lotto jackpot recorded to date.  

A few days later, a 69-year-old KwaZulu-Natal pensioner bagged R35m from the Wednesday draw, becoming the second pensioner in the province to become a multimillionaire in under two weeks. The winning ticket was purchased hours before the draw in Alberton, Ekurhuleni, with a wager of R80, using the quick pick method of playing.