The lotteries are in many countries an integral part of the local culture: the Spanish Loteria de Navidad is a centuries old Christmas tradition, US Powerball and Mega Millions embody the modern version of the American Dream, while the UK National Lottery is a major contributor to the restauration of historical landmarks, construction of sports centres and other good causes. The Australian lotteries are, just as much, a part of the life down under, dotting the weekly schedule with their draws.
An Aussie expat in the UK? The Oz lotteries might be just the thing you miss from back home. So, here are some fun facts about them:
With Monday Lotto holding draws on the first day of the week, Oz Lotto making new winners every Tuesday, Wednesday Lotto following up with its mid-week draw, the Australian Powerball spiking up the atmosphere with an interesting format and great prizes on Thursday and a weekend draw by Saturday Lotto, the Australian lotteries, for sure, know how to put on a show.
It is not without a reason that the Oz lotteries are so popular: they offer great prizes and awesome odds of winning. If Monday, Wednesday and Saturday draws feature the 6/45 format, very similar to the traditional Irish Lotto format, Australia Powerball comes up on Thursday with a format that takes on the popular American lottery game.
Hitting the jackpot for the Monday, Wednesday and Saturday draws means matching all the six winning numbers. The odds to achieve this are of 2 in 8,145,060, some of the best jackpot winning odds in the world. The odds for hitting the Australia Powerball jackpot might seem scary (1:76,767,600). But, if you think so, just take a look at the odds to scoop the US Powerball. The Oz game is doing great now, right?
This is, probably, the fun fact that will make you happy! Indeed, you can play the Australian lotteries from the UK by joining an online syndicate. For instance, if you want to play the Australian Powerball from the UK, you can do it on theLotter.co.uk, purchasing as many syndicate shares as you want. This way, you split the costs and the prizes with the other syndicate members, but you to own a part of a large number of tickets, boosting your odds of winning a prize.
The concept existed in Australia long before the first official Australian lottery was founded. The first unofficial lottery draws were entirely illegal. Sweepstakes would take place within a certain state until the authorities caught on such activities, which would lead to those organizing these illegal sweepstakes packing up and moving on to another state to avoid being caught.
Eventually the government understood the true potential behind the lotteries and how they could be used as a source of financing. This led to the first lottery draw approved by the government taking place under the Grand Lottery, with non-cash prizes being offered along with money. Non-surprisingly, this led to the first case of lotto litigiousness, where the first winner was sued by a friend who disputed the fact that the winner had actually purchased the ticket.
The idea of using the lottery to fund cultural projects is not unique. Whether you know it or not, many of London’s landmarks have been built or renovated with lottery money. Two of Australia’s most iconic landmarks – the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge were actually funded by lotteries. The Sydney Opera House received $102 million in funding after just 496 lotteries took place to raise funds for the structure, which was under serious threat due to a lack of funding.
If you win with the Oz lotteries, you will not have to pay any taxes in Australia! This is not the situation in many countries, where taxes are quite high and the winners scoop only a part of the advertised prize. Hence, a reason for the massive popularity of the lotto games down under.