Let's face it, we Aussies love to play the lottery – that's why we have one almost every day of the week! Except for Fridays and Sundays, Australian players have the chance to win a large jackpot – so let's take a look at each lottery in detail and learn more about their rules, odds and, most important of all, the jackpots! From the first Grand Lottery back at the turn of the 19th century, right through to 2012's record Oz Lotto jackpot of just under $112 million, Australian lotteries have enjoyed a fascinating history and jackpots that have captivated players for decades.Of The Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Lotto games were launched in the 70s. Today, in terms of rules, the Monday/Wednesday and Saturday Lottos are identical, only the Saturday Lotto offers higher jackpots. The nomenclature varies from state to state, however – with the games branded as TattsLotto in Victoria, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania, X Lotto in South Australia, Gold Lotto in Queensland and are simply referred to as the Monday, Wednesday or Saturday Lotto in Western Australia and New South Wales.In 1994 the Oz Lotto was launched offering Australia's biggest jackpots, followed by the Australian Powerball Lotto in 1996.
On Mondays
Monday Lotto - The First Lottery of the WeekOfficial Names: Monday Lotto, Monday X Lotto (SA), Monday Gold Lotto (QLD), Monday TattslottoDraw Day: MondayDraw Time: 8.30pm AEST / 9.30pm AEDTGame Rules: 6/45 + 2Jackpot: $1 MillionJackpot Odds: 1 : 8,145,060Prize Divisions: 6
On Tuesday
Oz Lotto - The Biggest Australian Lottery JackpotsOfficial Names: Oz LottoDraw Day: TuesdayDraw Time: 8.30pm AEST / 9.30pm AEDTGame Rules: 7/45 + 2Minimum Jackpot: $2 MillionRecord Jackpot: $112 Million (2012)Jackpot Odds: 1 : 45,379,620Prize Divisions: 7
On Wednesday
Wednesday Lotto - The Mid-Week LotteryOfficial Names: Wednesday Lotto, Wednesday X Lotto (SA), Wednesday Gold Lotto (QLD), Wednesday TattslottoDraw Day: WednesdayDraw Time: 8.30pm AEST / 9.30pm AEDTGame Rules: 6/45 + 2Jackpot: $1 MillionJackpot Odds: 1 : 8,145,060Prize Divisions: 6
On Thursday
Australian Powerball - The Power to Change Your LifeOfficial Names: PowerballDraw Day: ThursdayDraw Time: 8.30pm AESTGame Rules: 6/40 + 2/20Jackpot: $3 MillionRecord Jackpot: $80 Million (2009)Jackpot Odds: 1:76,767,600Prize Divisions: 8
On Saturday
Saturday Lotto - The Most Popular Australian LotteryOfficial Names: Saturday Lotto, Saturday X Lotto (SA), Saturday Gold Lotto (QLD), Saturday Tattslotto, LottoDraw Day: SaturdayDraw Time: 8.30pm AESTGame Rules: 6/45 + 2Jackpot: $4 MillionRecord Jackpot: $33 Million (Saturday Lotto Megadraw 2006)Jackpot Odds: 1:8,145,060Prize Divisions: 6
Australia's Biggest Wins
The biggest Australian jackpot of all time is for the Oz Lotto draw of November 6th, 2012 where four winners shared a jackpot worth $111,972,151.04.Prior to that the Oz Lotto record jackpot was $106 million, won in 2009 and split by two winners.The highest single-winner jackpot, meanwhile, was an Australian Powerball Lotto jackpot worth $40 million claimed by a thirty-something man from Brisbane who opted to stay anonymous.While the odds of hitting the Saturday Lotto are over eight million to one, back in 2009 a staggering 27 people managed to guess the same numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 23, Supplementary Numbers 26 and 41) and had to share in the winnings (Draw #2965 Saturday December 19, 2009).
Australia's Multiple Jackpot Winners
The odds of winning the lottery once may seem borderline insurmountable, yet, for a few lucky Aussies, that wasn't enough and so they ended up winning twice!In February 2015 news emerged of a syndicate of friends who managed to win two separate division one prizes worth $866,108 taking their combined winnings to over $1.7 million, or $157,474 when split between each of the 11 syndicate members.Not a bad result, especially when considering that the second tickets were actually bought by accident – the syndicate manager had actually intended to buy tickets for two separate draws.There were three such incidents in 2013, with one man from Brisbane and two people from Melbourne managing to defy odds by winning the Saturday Lotto twice. The Brisbane man played his regular numbers after buying a ticket but then forgot whether or not he'd done so and therefore went back to play again. The result was two lots $820,000 – worth $1.64 million in total!A woman from Melbourne managed to win two Saturday Lotto jackpots back to back to earn herself a total of $835,149.68. When informed of the second win by officials the woman claimed to have asked whether it was a hoax.In April 2013 a story made headlines of a man from Melbourne who won the Lotto twice in the space of six weeks. The first win allowed him to help pay off the mortgage, the second half he earmarked for house renovations – all in all the man won $1.2 million.In 2011 a syndicate of co-workers also won the lotto twice, in the space of just ten weeks. Whereas in 2008, another Victoria man, who wished to remain anonymous, made managed to achieve the impossible winning the Lotto three times in a row!Finally, we come to a heart-warming story about a down-on-his-luck man who had what has to be the most remarkable reversal of fortunes in Australian lottery history. |
