Daily Lotto offers the best jackpot odds of any National Lottery game, at 1 in 376 992.
That compares with 1 in 20 358 520 for Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto 5 Max, and 1 in 33 900 160 for PowerBall and PowerBall Xtra.
But what do those figures actually mean for players — and how have the odds changed?
Daily Lotto odds: 1 in 376 992
Daily Lotto has the best jackpot odds among South Africa’s current National Lottery games.
Players choose five numbers from 1 to 36. To win the jackpot, all five numbers must match the winning combination.
The jackpot odds are 1 in 376 992.
Daily Lotto also does not roll over. If nobody matches all five numbers, the jackpot rolls down to boost the Division 2 prize instead.
That means the available prize pool gets paid out every night rather than accumulating into increasingly large jackpots.
Lotto odds: 1 in 20 358 520
The jackpot odds for Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto 5 Max currently stand at 1 in 20 358 520.
Players select six numbers from the available pool, with the jackpot requiring all six numbers to match.
The odds improved under new operator Sizekhaya Holdings, which reduced the main number pool from 58 to 52 balls.
Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto 5 Max use the same six-number matrix.
Playing those games does not change the odds of a single board; instead, they provide additional draws using the selected numbers.
For detailed information about the games, rules and draws, visit the National Lottery website.
PowerBall odds: 1 in 33 900 160
PowerBall has the longest jackpot odds among the games covered here.
The current jackpot odds stand at 1 in 33 900 160.
Sizekhaya also reduced the secondary PowerBall pool from 20 numbers to 16, improving the overall jackpot odds.
Players can still win a fixed prize without matching the full jackpot combination.
Matching only the PowerBall number, for example, has odds of roughly 1 in 22 for that base tier.
Which South African lottery has the best odds?
If you’re comparing jackpot odds, Daily Lotto is by far the easiest of the main National Lottery games to win.
| Game | Jackpot odds |
|---|---|
| Daily Lotto | 1 in 376 992 |
| Lotto | 1 in 20 358 520 |
| Lotto Plus 1 | 1 in 20 358 520 |
| Lotto 5 Max | 1 in 20 358 520 |
| PowerBall | 1 in 33 900 160 |
| PowerBall Xtra | 1 in 33 900 160 |
The difference between the games is substantial. A Daily Lotto jackpot combination is dramatically more likely to occur than a PowerBall jackpot combination.
However, better odds do not guarantee a win.
Every individual draw remains random, and buying more entries increases the number of combinations played rather than changing the underlying odds of each combination.
Why the National Lottery changed the odds
Sizekhaya Holdings changed the game structures partly in response to long jackpot rollovers.
Chief operating officer Fundi Sithebe described the problem as “jackpot fatigue” among players.
“We go on for weeks, the jackpot gets bigger, but it just keeps on rolling over and rolling over,” she said.
Sithebe said the changes aim to make jackpots more meaningful and attainable.
“Some of the innovations put forward are cascading that jackpot so that we start to make it more meaningful, more frequently, and players can start to feel that this is actually attainable.”
“We’ve increased the odds and made sure that it’s a little bit more attainable than it was.”
She said the new approach formed part of the game’s design.
“And that’s the mechanism of the game design that we truly took time in putting together,” she said.
The changes are intended to make jackpots more attainable and reduce the impact of prolonged rollovers.
Why Sizekhaya brought back live televised draws
Sizekhaya Holdings has also brought back live, televised National Lottery draws.
The decision was driven by a commitment to transparency, credibility and public trust.
It also revives a longstanding South African tradition: watching the winning numbers being drawn live on television.
Sithebe said the return was important for transparency.
“It was important for us to bring that back, just to show the transparency.”
She also pointed to the tradition behind televised draws.
“Apart from the fact that it’s such a South African tradition, sitting around the TV watching,” she said.
The return of live draws forms part of Sizekhaya’s wider effort to strengthen public confidence in the National Lottery.
Have South Africans really won these jackpots?
The odds of hitting a National Lottery jackpot are extremely long, but major prizes have been won in South Africa.
In one notable example, a R75 PowerBall wager produced a R108,434,601.60 jackpot win in March 2026.
The winner, a sales agent and passionate gardener, said he had always believed he would win one day but never imagined it would happen on that scale.
He said the win would ease financial pressure and give him more freedom to spend time with his family.
Other major wins include a R178 million PowerBall jackpot, which broke the previous record, and a R30 million Lotto Plus win by a retired Western Cape mother.
Read about the R178 million PowerBall winner or how a retired Western Cape mom won R30 million.
These examples put the Lotto and PowerBall winning odds into perspective: the chances of hitting a jackpot remain extremely small, but major prizes have been won.
For the latest winning numbers, jackpots and prize divisions, follow our daily Lottery coverage.
