Lotteries in Australia include various lottery related products licensed by The Lottery Corporation, The Lottery Office and Lotterywest Australian lottery companies. Lotteries operators are licensed at a state or territory level, and include both state government-owned, not-for-profit and private sector companies. Most major Lotteries have now moved into the online marketplace.
Major lotteries As of February 2015, the major players in the lottery industry include:
The Lottery Corporation – In 2022, Tabcorp's Lotteries & Keno business demerged to form The Lottery Corporation – the leader in the Australian lotteries and Keno market, and one of the highest performing lottery businesses globally. The Lottery Corporation, an official Government licensed operator in all States of Australia apart from Western Australia. It operates under the "Tatts" brand in Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory. It also manages Queensland's Golden Casket Lottery Corporation (which it took over from the Queensland government in 2007Golden Casket Lottery Corporation (2007). Golden Casket corporate information . Accessed on 29 August 2008.), New South Wales Lotteries in NSW and the ACTNew South Wales Government (2 March 2010). Treasurer Roozendaal: NSW Lotteries sale – more than $1 billion in proceeds delivered to NSW taxpayers . Media release. Accessed on 17 March 2010. and South Australian Lotteries in South Australia; Lotterywest, the Western Australian Government-owned operator in Western Australia; The Lottery Office, operating since 2003, is 100% Australian owned and licensed. The Lottery Office operates FutureBall lottery, as well as issuing matched lottery tickets in corresponding overseas lottery draws; Intralot Australia, which operates under "Intralot" in Tasmania; The publicly listed Jumbo Interactive, an online re-seller of lotteries operating as Ozlotteries; and The privately owned company Netlotto, an online re-seller of lotteries via the netlotto.com.au website.
From 2007 to 2014, Intralot Australia held a lottery licence to sell Instant Scratch-its, Keno and bingo tickets in Victoria. The licence was sold to Tatts Group in October 2014.
State government-owned corporations were once a major sector in the industry. However, with The Lott, part of The Lottery Corporation, taking over operation of all state-owned lotteries apart from Western Australia (though the states still retain legal ownership), the only remaining state owned-and-operated lottery in Australia is Lotterywest in Western Australia.
Although the organisations are predominantly state-based, Australia has a number of national lottery games. Currently, The Lott and Lotterywest operate as a bloc to jointly conduct the national games, pooling their entries and winnings. For example, The Lott administers the Saturday Lotto (also known as TattsLotto, Gold Lotto and X Lotto in some jurisdictions), Oz Lotto and Powerball games on behalf of the bloc; similarly, South Australian Lotteries operated the Australian Soccer Pools on behalf of the other operators. The major operators also market lottery games traditionally running in their own jurisdiction, however recently some of these have become "multi-state" games, if not national.
On 1 June 2016, Tattersall's created a national lottery brand called 'The Lott'. The brand encompasses all its jurisdictional lottery brands under this single entity. Corresponding with the change in branding, online lottery purchases were moved from Tatts.com to the new official lotteries website.
Australian lotteries are subject to many regulations, which generally vary by state. The minimum age to purchase lottery products is 18 in all states except for Western Australia, where the age was lowered to 16.Lotterywest Game Rules . Accessed 24 August 2015.
Most Australian lottery tickets do not include retailer sales commission; purchases often are not to the whole dollar.
FutureBall FutureBall is Australia's newest lottery, introduced in 2026 and operated by The Lottery Office, under licence by the Northern Territory Government of Australia.
The game features a fixed A$1 million top prize and is drawn twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Players select six numbers from a pool of 34 and one additional number from a secondary pool of three.
FutureBall includes four prize divisions, with the first division requiring all six main numbers plus the FutureBall and the additional number to be matched.
Unlike traditional Australian lotteries, the game has a unique feature where each possible number combination is only issued once per draw, ensuring that the Million Dollar Division 1 prize is never shared if won.
The Lott
Saturday Lotto/TattsLotto Saturday Lotto is a national Saturday night draw conducted by Tattersall's, and is syndicated to all Australian states and territories through the Australian Lotto Bloc. The game is marketed as TattsLotto in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory; as Gold Lotto in Queensland; as X Lotto in South Australia and simply as Lotto or Saturday Lotto in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia.
In the absence of poker machines, the Victorian state government awarded Tattersall's the right to conduct a weekly lottery to raise additional revenue to complement the state's health system funding. The first TattsLotto draw, with the first prize of A$50,000, was on 24 June 1972, televised on HSV-7 Melbourne.
TattsLotto, which was the first of its type in Australia, was originally based on the European style 6-from-49 lotteries, where six numbers are selected from 40 in a standard game. Each week, six numbers and one supplementary number were mechanically drawn from a transparent barrel. Each televised draw was live-to air and witnessed by three officials, one from Tattersalls and two representatives from the government. From Draw 413, on 6 July 1985, the current standard game format, six from 45, was introduced to increase the chances at winning a prize. Also from this draw, an additional supplementary number was drawn.
Originally, players would complete an entry ticket of between two and 10 games, at a cost of A$0.60 per game. The ticket consisted of an original and a carbon copy. The player would present the ticket to an agent/seller who would validate both copies of the ticket by inserting the ticket into a designated cash register. The copy would be returned to the player and the original would be kept by the agent/seller and sent to Tattersalls prior to the next draw. In the 80s, the network of agents/sellers were computerised. This allowed a later closing time for each draw, scannable entries with printed tickets, randomly selected computer-generated tickets (known variously as a "Quick Pick", "Pick Quick", "Auto-Pick", "Easi-Pick" or "Slikpik"), more games per draw to be purchased, etc.
Variations to the standard game are commonly known as a system entry. These games cost extra but allow the player to increase their chances of winning. The more numbers selected per game, the greater the outlay. Subsequently, if the selected numbers are drawn, multiple prizes are won.
Currently, the game offers a First Division prize of approximately $4 million each week often shared between multiple winners (for example 4 winners each receive $1 million), with regular $20 million "Superdraws" taking place approximately 6-7 times a year. In addition, there are Megadraws (usually around Christmas/New Year) with jackpots of around $30 million. If there is no division 1 winner in TattsLotto it jackpots to at least $8 million, but this rarely happens; the most recent occurrence was in March 2026. A minimum of four standard games (or six with a Quick Pick entry) must be purchased at a cost of $0.96 per game, which includes agent's commission.
In 2020, history was made when 27 winners won the superdraw.
The following prize divisions can be won (cumulative probability refers to the probability of winning that division or a higher division, thus the chance of winning any prize is 1 in 42):
Division Winning Numbers Required Probability (Single Game) Cumulative Probability (Single Game) 1st Division 6 1 in 8,145,060 1 in 8,145,060 2nd Division 5 + supplementary 1 in 678,755 1 in 626,543 3rd Division 5 1 in 36,690 1 in 34,659 4th Division 4 1 in 733 1 in 718 5th Division 3 + one or both supplementary 1 in 298 1 in 210 6th Division 3 1 in 53 1 in 42
Weekday Windfall
Weekday Windfall (Millionaire Medley in Western Australia) (formerly Monday & Wednesday Lotto) is a national lottery game, administered by Tattersall's and played on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.
Its current logo features a large purple hand holding dollar bills.
Entries cost $0.68 per game including agent's commission.
The three weekly draws carry a Division 1 prize of $1 million for up to 6 division one winners.
History
5 November 1979: It began life as a New South Wales-only game administered by New South Wales Lotteries, holding its first draw. 1994: Oz Lotto is introduced in NSW, ending NSW Lotto's reign as the only lotto game played in the state (New South Wales being the last state to join the Australian Lotto Bloc, in 2000.) April 2004: The game was made identical in structure to Saturday Lotto: six winning numbers and two supplementary numbers are drawn from 45 balls, with its five winning divisions the same. May 2006: NSW Lotto began expanding interstate, when the state lottery commissions in South Australia and Western Australia started selling tickets,New South Wales Lotteries (2006). Monday and Wednesday Lotto is on the move. Flyer explaining the expansion of NSW Lotto to South Australia and Western Australia. replacing SA Lotto in the process. 13 October 2008: Tattersall's started selling Monday and Wednesday Lotto to its territories – having earlier lost the right to run Wednesday TattsLotto after June. Monday 17 May 2010: In South Australia, the game was changed from "Lotto" to its original name in that state, X Lotto, coinciding with a new lotteries system – one change of which was the ability to recognise crosses (as opposed to vertical markings) on the Lotto entry form.SA Lotteries (20 May 2010). X Lotto first for Elizabeth Downs pensioner . Media release. Accessed on 2 June 2010. 21 October 2013: Queensland's Golden Casket began selling tickets in Monday & Wednesday Lotto.Tatts Group Limited (2013). Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto . (Retrieved on 29 December 2013) 20 May 2024: Its name changed to Weekday Windfall (Millionaire Medley in Western Australia). This rebrand added a Friday night draw and increased the number of winners that can get the division 1 prize to 6.
Significant Changes NSW Lotteries has seen a number of changes since its introduction in 1979:New South Wales Lotteries (4 November 2009). Celebrating 30 years of Lotto Luck . Media release. Retrieved on 10 February 2010.
Originally a weekly game played on Mondays, a second "mid-week" draw was added on 21 November 1984. Originally on Wednesdays, this was moved to Thursdays between 1989 and 1996. It was returned to Wednesday following the introduction of Powerball on Thursday nights. Originally a 6-from-40 game, the game was first expanded to 44 balls, and then to the current 45. The latest change, introduced on 19 April 2004, brought the NSW game in line with Saturday Lotto. A second supplementary number was added on 20 August 1990. NSW Lotto previously offered a "Double Up" option for an extra $0.15 per game, which doubled any winning Division 2 to 5 prizes. This was eliminated by the time Tattersall's joined the game. From 19 April 2004 until 1 May 2006: Divisions 4 and 5 had fixed prizes of $20 and $10, respectively.