How to Calculate Lottery Winning Numbers | Making Lotto Predictions in South Africa

We all wish we could start deep into a crystal ball and see the winning lottery numbers. Having the superpower to tell the future would have many benefits, but predicting the winning Lotto numbers and getting rich overnight is right up there with the best of them!

So let's come back to reality for a minute. Predicting the future isn't possible, but what we can do is use what we do know about how the lotto works to try to calculate lottery winning numbers in South Africa.

Below we explain how to calculate lottery winning numbers, give you the most common winning Lotto numbers, plus share a few different ways you can predict winning Lotto numbers in South Africa.

How to calculate lottery probability

Let's start with the question many people ask - what are the chances of me actually winning the Lotto in South Africa? 

To work out the probability of winning any lottery, you must calculate the number of possible winning lottery numbers and then divide that sum by the number of balls that are drawn. As long as all the numbers are chosen from the same set or drum, this equation applies to any lottery.

To use the example of a lottery many South Africans like to play, the odds of winning the USA Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302.6 million. But that's if you play in the United States, not online in South Africa where you won't win quite as much but your chances of winning are much better!

It's easier to win Lucky Numbers than playing the lottery

Okay, so the chances of winning any lottery by buying a physical ticket are very slim. But the good news is that when it comes to betting on Lucky Numbers online, your chances are much better for several reasons! 

While there are some limits to how much you can win playing Lucky Numbers (except for Supabets Supabillions), there are some big benefits to playing these games through a bookmaker online: 

1️⃣ You have more betting options

Your only choice when buying a physical Lotto ticket is to predict the outcome of every number drawn. If you want to increase your chances of winning, your only option is to buy more tickets and spend more money.

Playing Lucky Numbers with a bookmaker like Betway allows you to pick fewer numbers and take less risk if you want to increase your chances of winning. At smaller odds, you can also bet on the outcome of the Bonus Ball and side markets like Odd/Even, Over/Under, Single Digit, etc.

2️⃣ You know the exact odds and payout

Playing the Lotto in a shop or online, you never actually know the real chance of winning because the number of players and entries changes from one week to the next.

However, when playing Lucky Numbers with an online bookmaker like Hollywoodbets, you will know the exact odds and payout for every bet the moment you place it.  

3️⃣ You never have to share a prize

Because playing the Lotto in the traditional way is a form of parimutuel or pool betting, prizes are always divided by the number of total winners. So unless you're the only player to predict the lottery winning numbers, your prize will be shared with other players.

If you win with Lucky Numbers, the potential return you see on your betslip is guaranteed and your payout is always the same no matter how many other winners there are. 

Past winning Lotto numbers in South Africa

Looking at the South African Lotto, from a total of 2,173 draws (going back to 11 March 2000), the most common winning number is 16 which has been drawn 299 times so far. The next most common number is 30 and then 2 and 48 which have all been drawn a total of 290 times. 

How to calculate the Bonus Ball

If you believe in the power of statistics to calculate lottery winning numbers, take a look at which numbers have been drawn most often to help you calculate the bonus ball. 

Believe it not, for the South African Lotto, 16 is also the most common Bonus Ball number with 57 appearances in the last 22 years. This is followed by 10, 22, 19 and 48 which have all been drawn a total of 55 times. 

Read this article explaining how to find Lucky Numbers results on several betting sites.

How to predict winning Lotto numbers

The hardest part of playing Lucky Numbers is choosing which numbers to select in the draw. There are many different methods available and we advise you to try them all until you find one that works for you.

If you're the kind of person who believes history repeats itself, then using past lotto results to make your predictions can work nicely. You can find the past results of every lottery in the world here. These results go back 30 days from the latest draw. 

To find older results from any lottery, try typing into Google "{Name of lottery} past results" and you should find a complete history.

Other ways to calculate lottery winning numbers include using your birthday or your star sign. You could also try our Lucky Numbers Dream Guide and explore your subconscious mind for the answers you need.

Our final tip for making your lottery predictions is to use our Lucky Numbers generator which spits out random numbers for various lotteries at the click of a button. There are many more where this came from, but try out our Mega Millions Lucky Numbers Generator below to see how you like it

For more about online sports betting, casino games and lotteries in South Africa, visit the Betting Guide homepage to find bookmaker reviews, promotions, betting tips and more.