South Africa is such a great place to live because of the number of cool things there are to stay entertained with here. Catching up with the latest celeb gossip online is a great example of this, as is checking out the biggest TV shows or most exciting movies. Playing games is also something people across the country love to do and this is certainly true for the National Lottery in South Africa.
Launched in 2000, the first live South African National Lottery draw took place on 11th March that year and saw 80 organisations awarded part of the first-ever R4.1 million jackpot. Of course, lotto games are also something other countries run, and these can be fun for South Africans to get involved with.
But which are the biggest and oldest to know about?
La Primitiva and El Gordo—Spain
Spain has not one but two iconic lotto games to wow bettors with. La Primitiva is a good place to start and was established way back in 1763! It was first launched to generate revenue for Spain’s public finances and is still going strong today. This sees twice weekly lotto games for impressive amounts that can reach up to €98.4 million!
Although La Primitiva is a top choice for fixed odds lotto betting, there is another option in Spain called El Gordo, which gets a lot of attention. This has been active since 1812 and is held at Christmas time each year. El Gordo is known around the world as the world’s biggest lotto and regularly sees billions won in fixed odd lotto betting prizes. Information on how to play El Gordo is easy to come by online and this means it is a popular choice for people all over the planet.
Staatsloterij—Netherlands
The Staatsloterij is part of the Dutch National State Lottery and actually older than La Primitiva in Spain. It was first drawn in 1726 and was set up by Dutch authorities as a legal way for people to bet on fixed-odds lotto games.
Regulated by the Dutch Gaming Authority, it is safe to bet on both online and offline. Main prize money wins on this Dutch lotto game can go into the millions of Euros—with an April 2022 winner receiving €12.8 million into their bank account. This makes it easy to see why the latest news in gaming can sometimes cover lotto games like this and report on everything the industry includes.
France Loto—France
It is no surprise to see that France is another European country with a historic and eye-catching national lottery. This was first established in 1933 and is run by the well-known FDJ group. Although called the Loterie Nationale initially, the name was changed to France Loto in 1989.
Bettors in this lotto-based game have to select five numbers between 1 and 49—plus a Chance number between 1 and 10. Draws are made three times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The main prize money wins can get seriously big on this game and start at a minimum of €2 million. If there is no winner, the total is rolled over and an extra €1 million is added to it. The maximum number of times this can happen before it’s shared with lower-tier winners is 34.
US Powerball
Anyone who keeps up with celebrity gossip in South Africa knows it is the biggest stars that catch the most attention. This is also true for fixed-odds lotto games and explains why US Powerball is such a hit worldwide.
It was launched in the early 1990s and this means it has a decent amount of history behind it now. To enter, all bettors have to do is choose five numbers between 1 and 69—plus a Powerball number from 1 to 26.
This lotto’s status as one of the world’s biggest is warranted when you consider the huge $2.04 billion won in November 2022 by someone in California, and the multi-millions that others have also scooped on US Powerball main cash prizes. Available in around 44 US states, it is also possible for people on an international scale to get involved with.
This is easy to do through betting on US Powerball online and getting involved in one of the world’s most popular fixed-odds lotto games is simple as a result. The minimum guaranteed main prize total of $20 million is also impressive, as is the familiar nature of the fixed-odds-based gameplay.
World’s oldest and biggest lotto games to try out
If you enjoy betting on lotto-based games around South Africa, then the country's own National Lottery is a great option. Sometimes though, it is interesting to check out options from different countries that offer more history or the biggest main cash prizes.
