All you Ever Wanted to Know About the Germany Lotto

The German Lotto is referred to as Lotto 6 aus 49 in Germany and this translates to 6 out of 49. The name of this lottery game reveals its format – players need to pick 6 numbers from a range of 1 – 49. The name does not reveal the fact that players will also need to pick an additional number known as the Super Number from 0-9. There are various other lottery games operated by the Germany Lotto (DLTB), such as Spiel 77, Super 6 and the GlücksSpirale (translates to Lucky Spiral). Still, the 6 aus 49 is by far the most popular lottery game in Germany amongst both German players and foreign nationals as well.

All major state-sanctioned lotteries in Germany are operated by the DLTB – Deutscher Lotto-und Totoblock. This organization was formed by the coming together of 16 different German lottery companies from across the country. The German Lotto 6 aus 49 (which is referred to as Lotto) is the DLTB’s flagship lottery. This lottery has made many players multi-millionaires overnight and offers two draws every week.

With a minimum guaranteed jackpot of €1 million and the ability for the jackpot to roll over, this lottery game attracts players from all around the world, including South African lottery enthusiasts. If you are based in South African and are looking to play the German Lotto, it is possible for you to do so and we will tell you how below. But first, let’s take a quick look at the history of the German Lotto 6 aus 49.

The first German Lotto draw occurred on October 9^th, 1955. Over the years, the German Lotto has made millionaires out of hundreds of everyday, normal people like you. One of the main reasons for its worldwide recognition is due to the fact that it is one of the oldest lotteries still running. In order to maintain a level of fairness and transparency, the 16 German lottery companies which form the DLTB take turns managing the whole organization for a period of three years each.

It was in 1982 that the operators agreed to add a second weekly draw on Wednesday nights to double the fun and the revenues in one move. Previously, the format of the German Lotto was a 7 out of 38 where players had to pick 7 numbers from 1 – 38. The format changed in 1986 to the 6 aus 49 format we play today.

One of the most recent additions to the German Lotto came in May of 2013 when a super number concept was introduced. The super number, known in German as “Superzahl”, would bring down the odds of winning the jackpot further, but additional lower-tier prizes were introduced simultaneously. This meant that even though the odds of winning the jackpot were lower, the overall odds of winning any prize went up from 1 in 54 to 1 in 31.

Lotteries like the German Lotto and other popular big-hitting lotteries depend on millions of people to play them. The jackpot pot is funded by the people who play and the success of the lottery is therefore directly proportional to how many people regularly take part in the lottery. Therefore, restricting the lottery to only German nationals would be counterproductive to the prospects of the lottery game and its organizers.

The German Lotto does not disallow any foreign players from participating in the lottery. You don’t have to be a German passport holder; you could just be visiting Germany and buying a ticket in person, or maybe you never set foot in Germany, but you can still buy a ticket online.

Anyone in South Africa can use online lottery ticket purchasing service websites to buy their German Lotto ticket and stand a chance to win the elusive German Lotto jackpot. Many online lottery services are well-established and trustworthy and cater to players based in South Africa. If you want to play the German Lotto online, understand how playing online works. You can also learn about other international lotteries on our guide to the top 12 international lotteries.

Unless you plan to take a round trip to Germany, the only other way to legally play the German Lotto and win is through online lottery purchasing services. Several long-standing, trusted online lottery services accept players from South Africa. While each lottery service website may have certain unique features and promotions, the general process of how they all work is pretty much the same.

Interested players can open an account with the lottery service website. Once successfully registered, the player will have a username and password to use as credentials to access their lottery account. Most lottery services websites are not dedicated to a single lottery. They offer members the ability to play tons of different lotteries from all over the world, and the German Lotto is a common inclusion at such websites, considering the popularity of the German Lotto.

Registered players can use the website to choose their lottery, pick lottery ticket numbers and then pay for their entry through an online payment mode such as credit card, debit card, e-wallet, online bank transfer, etc. After the payment is made, an agent based in Germany and representing the online lottery service company will personally go to an approved lottery kiosk and purchase the ticket on your behalf. The same numbers you picked will be chosen on the ticket and a copy of the ticket is also emailed to you to confirm your participation.

So essentially, you place the order for the ticket through the website and someone will buy the ticket as per your requirements in the country of the lottery on your behalf.

The German Lotto is a luck-based lottery game operated by the DLTB. The DLTB comprises of 16 German Lottery companies that have joined hands to run various lotteries like the German Lotto 6 aus 49, Spiel 77, Super 6 and the GlücksSpirale. The German Lotto assures a minimum jackpot of at least €1 million every draw.

There are two draws every week and if there is no jackpot winner in a draw, the amount is carried over to the next draw. Carryovers are permitted a maximum of 13 times. In order to win the jackpot, players must match 6 main numbers and 1 super number. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160. There are 8 other prizes apart from the jackpot.

How to Play

It is very easy to play the German Lotto. You need to pick 6 main numbers from 1 – 49 and then pick 1 super number from 0 – 9. If you match all six main numbers and the super number, you will win the ultimate prize offered by the German Lotto, the jackpot. While playing at an online lottery website, you may have the choice of quick pick, manual pick or just picking your saved lucky numbers. Quick pick will let the algorithm pick numbers randomly for you.

Be aware of email phishing scams which happen in the name of German Lotto, EuroMillions and other popular lotteries all over the world. Unless the email is from an official source, any email stating that you have won could be a scam email. To verify if your ticket is a winning ticket, you can always check the draw results of the lottery online.

How to Buy a Ticket 

Players who live in Germany or are visiting Germany can buy tickets firsthand at various retail outlets and kiosks all over the country.

Players living in outside of Germany can buy tickets through online websites. There are various online lottery services available for South African players.

Draw Dates

The German Lotto initially had one weekly draw, but a second draw was added in 1982. Now, you have one draw which happens over the weekend and one which happens mid-week. For some reason, the time of the two weekly draws is different. The Wednesday draw takes place at 6:25 pm CET and the Saturday draw takes place at 7:25 pm CET. The venue for both the draws is Saarbrücken, Germany.

The German Lotto offers better odds than well-known lotteries such as SuperEnalotto, Mega Millions and the US Powerball. The odds offered are more on par with EuroMillions. However, the jackpot offered by the German Lotto is not as lucrative as the EuroMillions. A table of the odds is published below for all prizes the German Lotto offers.

The German Lotto prizes are paid out as a single lump sum. Some people love this, but there may be a few who prefer an annuity payout option. If you belong to the latter group, we recommend you play a lottery that offers an annuity because the German Lotto does not have this option.

Another huge advantage to playing the German Lotto is that you don’t have to pay any taxes on lottery winnings in Germany, no matter what the size of your win. So, if you win the jackpot, it’s all yours to keep, the German government won’t take any of it.

South African players who purchased the ticket through online lottery websites can expect the lottery service to help them with the claiming process. The lottery website will send out email and SMS notifications to winners and walk them through the claiming process.

Where Can I Buy Tickets From? 

Players who are based in Germany can always buy tickets first hand at approved German Lotto kiosks that can be found all over the country. The only requirement is that they are of legal age, which is 18 years old or more in Germany.

If you are in South Africa or in any other country apart from Germany, then you can buy tickets using online lottery service websites. A few South African friendly lottery websites which we recommend include the Lotter, Jackpot.com, Lotto Agent, Giant Lottos and Lotto Send.

Biggest Jackpots Won with German Lotto

The minimum guaranteed jackpot in the German Lotto 6 aus 49 is €1 million. However, the jackpot can be rolled over as many as 13 times when there is no winner. As it so happens, a few extremely lucky people have actually won the jackpot when it has rolled over and come close to the upper limit. Some noteworthy wins so far include: a win of €45.4 million in December of 2007, a €37.7 million win in October of 2006 and a €35 million win in February of 2009.

No matter how you slice it, the odds of winning the jackpot prize in any substantially sized lottery are underwhelming and the German Lotto is no different. You need to be extremely lucky to win the jackpot. Having said that, we mustn’t overlook the fact that the German Lotto offers a total of 8 prizes excluding the jackpot and the odds of winning some of the lower tier prizes are much better.

The odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 31 and this makes the German Lotto worth playing in our opinion. Also, the German Lotto has an astounding record of making hundreds of people millionaires and continues to churn out more millionaires nearly every week, so you could be the next one.