Why Is Gosloto So Popular In South Africa?
Bandile Khumalo Lotto Expert
Last Updated: 31/10/24
Bandile Khumalo is originally from Durban, but he's made Cape Town his home. Bandile loves anything to do with soccer, and he's particularly passionate about betting and lucky numbers - in fact, he's something of a gambling aficionado. He enjoys spending time with his family most of all, though. They're the most important thing in his life.
The Gosloto is arguably the biggest lottery to bet on in South Africa, perhaps just behind the UK 49’s. However, we have to ask why is it so popular? Wouldn’t South Africans prefer to bet on South African lotteries such as the SA Daily or SA Powerball? Let’s take a look:
Some of the key reasons betting on the Gosloto is popular:
- Limited Ticket Purchase Options: South Africans do not have any way of purchasing tickets for international lotteries like the Megamillions, US Powerball, Russian Gosloto, and several others. As a result, “Lucky Numbers”, which allows betting on the outcome of most of the popular international lotteries, is one of the most popular betting products in South Africa.
- More Opportunities: Lucky Numbers offers punters several opportunities for winning since there are various betting markets in Lucky Numbers betting. With a traditional lotto, you only get one ‘line’ (choice of numbers) and one way to win. In contrast, Lucky Numbers gives you more options to bet on, such as 1 number, 2 numbers, 3 numbers, 4 numbers, bonus ball, odd/even, ball colour and several others.
- Variety and Frequency: The Russian Gosloto is not just one game but multiple variations – in fact, there are four main draws (5/36, 6/45, 7/49, 5/50). There are multiple Russian Gosloto draws every single day, providing punters with several opportunities of winning each day.
- Favourable Odds: The odds of winning for all the lotteries are quite favorable, so punters feel like they stand a better chance of winning if they play this lottery, adding to its popularity.
The main Russian Gosloto variations that punters can bet on from South Africa are:
- Gosloto 5/36: This version of the lottery has 36 balls, and five are drawn in each game.
- Gosloto 6/45: This version is the most popular among the three. It consists of 45 balls, and six are drawn in each game.
- Gosloto 7/49: In this version, 49 balls are involved, and seven are drawn in each game.
The numbers in the names of these variations (5/36, 6/45, and 7/49) refer to the number of balls drawn and the total number of balls involved in the game, respectively.
The Gosloto 5/50 is another variation of the Russian Gosloto available for betting. This variant is not as popular as others like the 5/36, 6/45, and 7/49, but it still offers good returns. In this game, punters pick and match 4 balls for a return of R25,000 for each 1 Rand bet. Not all bookmakers offer the 5/50 variant, so it’s important for punters to check with their current bookmaker before placing a bet. YesPlay is one bookmaker that definitely offers 5/50 odds.
While South Africans do participate in local lotteries such as the SA Daily or SA Powerball, there are several reasons why they might prefer betting on international lotteries such as the Russian Gosloto:
- Great Offers & Promotions: As the Gosloto is offered by bookmakers, there are plenty of sign up and welcome offers available. Check out our betting offers page to see them all.
- Draw Frequency: There are much more Gosloto draws than SA Daily or SA Powerball
- Better Odds: The Gosloto draws are often drawn from fewer numbers which means you have a better chance of getting your numbers correct (although, this means the payouts are less)
- Draw Times: The SA draws are usually in the evening. If you’d like to bet during the day, Gosloto offers this.
As you can see, the Gosloto is clearly very popular in South Africa and it’s not showing any sign of slowing down!
