You will hardly find anyone around the country who doesn’t appreciate a good deal. Be it on a service, product or elsewhere, South African citizens from Cape Town to Calitzdorp and back are generally shoo-ins for bargains.
It’s our thrifty nature and willingness to make hard-earned rands and cents go that much further that global onlookers can really appreciate. And this doesn’t just extend to the United Kingdom, United States of America and other bigger nations.
There are smaller countries that have seen the thriftiness of South Africans, which certainly plays into our lottery-entering habits as well. And it’s a good thing, too, that South Africans are able to bet on lotteries around the world.
It strengthens the global connection – and make for solid entertainment as well. Take a look at the cheapest lotteries to be on in SA and you will soon see that there are several inexpensive options.
While you can also play the US Powerball and MegaMillions, which cost more to enter than most other draws, there are lotteries across Europe, into South America and around other parts of the globe available on the relative cheap as well.
The Polish Mini Lotto probably offers the most value. For a mere R3 entry, there are chances to pocket plenty of ZAR. Its’s record tier-one prize has been in excess of R1.5 million and the odds of landing a tier-one prize are approximately one in 850,000.
That’s pretty decent going for the price of, say, a packet of chips at a local spaza shop. Closer to home, the SA Powerball and SA Lotto weigh in at R5 per entry, but continuing this look at other lotteries around the world, the German Keno is another inexpensive option at R1 for an entry.
This isn’t necessarily going to offer as much value as the Polish Mini Lotto, but can still be worth a go. For just three times as much as the SA Powerball or SA Lotto, though, there are the WorldMillions and Brazil Quina at R15 per entry. Here, the record prizes get really exciting. The WorldMillions and Brazil Quina draws have yielded record wins of R2.4 billion and R618 million tier-one prizes in the past.
Top 10 cheapest lotteries to bet on in South Africa
| Lottery | Price | Record prize | Odds of winning record prize |
| SA Lotto | R5 | R110,000,000 | 1 in 20,358,520 |
| Mini Lotto | R3 | R1,553,000 | 1 in 850,668 |
| SA Powerball | R5 | R232,131,750 | 1 in 42,375,200 |
| WorldMillions | R15 | R2.4 billion | 1 in 100,000,000 |
| German Lotto | R15 | R738,094,847 | 1 in 139,838,160 |
| Keno 24/7 | R2 | R738,094,847 | 1 in 8,911,711 |
| Polish Lotto | R15 | R291,400,000 | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| Brazil Quina | R15 | R618,000,000 | 1 in 24,040,016 |
| German Keno | R1 | R1,000,000 | 1 in 2,147,181 |
| KeNow | R1 | R1,000,000 | 1 in 2,147,181 |
As the old adage goes, you have to be in it to win it, but there is no doubt that some of the cheapest lotteries to be on in SA from around the world can offer plenty of value around this country.
