Lightning Dice in South Africa: What Each Bet Pays With and Without Lightning
Lightning Dice is Evolution's live dice game, launched in June 2019. A presenter sends three dice down a transparent tower and you bet on their total, from 3 to 18, or on Low, High, Any Double or Any Triple. When betting closes, lightning puts random multipliers on two to four bet spots, and a struck 3 or 18 pays up to 1,000 times the bet. Without lightning the payouts are modest, and this page shows what each bet returns with and without it.
On this page
What Lightning Dice looks like
Images: Evolution, official game page (games.evolution.com); Our still from Evolution's official promo video (games.evolution.com).
How Lightning Dice works
Each round opens with betting time. The main bets are the sixteen totals from 3 to 18, the sum of three standard dice. The version on Evolution's current game page adds Low (a total of 3 to 9), High (12 to 18), Any Double (exactly two dice match) and Any Triple (all three match).
When betting closes, lightning strikes two to four bet spots, numbers or extra bets, and gives each a random multiplier. The host then sets the dice at the top of the Lightning Tower and pulls the lever. They tumble through a transparent maze in three sections, and the three faces showing at the bottom decide the round.
A winning bet is paid at its regular payout, or at a multiplied one if lightning struck that spot, with the stake returned on top. Because the strikes come after betting has closed, you can never see a multiplier first and then bet on it.
Evolution announced the launch on 13 June 2019, and its Chief Product Officer, Todd Haushalter, called it the "little sister" of Lightning Roulette. That release describes sixteen spots, one per total, a Bet on All button and lightning on "between one and several" numbers; the four extra bets, two to four strikes and a Bet on All Numbers button came later.
Lightning Dice payout table
Evolution's help gives each payout as a range, from the regular payout to the most a struck spot pays, with the stake returned on top: 4:1 on R10 means R40 won plus the R10 back.
| Bet | Ways of 216 (our count) | Regular payout | Top payout with lightning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total 3 or 18 | 1 each | 149:1 | 999:1 |
| Total 4 or 17 | 3 each | 49:1 | 499:1 |
| Total 5 or 16 | 6 each | 24:1 | 249:1 |
| Total 6 or 15 | 10 each | 14:1 | 99:1 |
| Total 7 or 14 | 15 each | 9:1 | 99:1 |
| Total 8 or 13 | 21 each | 6:1 | 49:1 |
| Total 9 or 12 | 25 each | 5:1 | 49:1 |
| Total 10 or 11 | 27 each | 4:1 | 49:1 |
| Low (3 to 9) | 81 | 1:1 | 9:1 |
| High (12 to 18) | 81 | 1:1 | 9:1 |
| Any Double | 90 | 1:1 | 3:1 |
| Any Triple | 6 | 24:1 | 249:1 |
What the lightning is paying for
Set the multipliers aside and the regular payouts return much less than Evolution's published RTP. Take Total 10: it lands in 27 of 216 rolls, one in eight. At the regular 4:1 a R10 bet brings back R50, so eight rolls cost R80 and return R50 on average, 62.5% of the stake, and Total 11 works out the same. These are our sums from Evolution's table.
Evolution puts every bet between 96.03% and 96.57%, so on our sums lightning carries 33.5 to 34 percentage points of the return on 10 or 11, paid only when that total lands with lightning on it. The other totals return 69.4% at the regular payout (8 and 13 return 68.1%), which leaves about 26.5 to 28.5 points to lightning. Before lightning, Low and High return 75%, Any Double 83.3% and Any Triple 69.4%.
So the published return is an average over many rounds, struck wins included. A short session can end well below 96% with nothing wrong with the game, and one struck 3 or 18 can lift it far above.
The bets side by side 🔍
- Low and High lose on 10 and 11. They pay 1:1, but Low covers 3 to 9 and High 12 to 18, so the two most common totals beat both. By our count each wins in 81 of 216 outcomes, 37.5% of rounds. Lightning can lift them to 9:1.
- Any Double wins most often. Exactly two matching dice turn up in 90 of 216 outcomes, 41.7% by our count, more than any other bet. It pays 1:1, up to 3:1 when struck, and a triple beats it.
- Any Triple has the best return. Evolution's help names it the top bet at 96.57%. All three dice match in 6 of 216 outcomes, one in 36 on our count; it pays 24:1, up to 249:1 with lightning.
- Bet on All Numbers wins every round, not every round in profit. The button puts your chip on all sixteen totals: R1 each costs R16, and one total always wins. At the regular rate, though, a 6 to 15, which comes up in 196 of 216 rolls by our sum, pays back only R5 to R15. Without lightning on the winning total, only a 3, 4, 5, 16, 17 or 18 returns more than the R16 staked.
- No system changes the price. No staking pattern or betting system beats the house edge. Each roll starts from scratch, lightning picks its spots at random after bets close, and the Winning Numbers display of recent results is a record, not a forecast.
- If your connection drops. Evolution's help says bets stay valid once betting has closed and are settled in your absence, with the result in your History window.
Lightning Dice RTP and volatility 📊
Evolution gives Lightning Dice's return to player as 96.03% - 96.57% depending on the bet.
Top payout: 1000x.
Paying for Lightning Dice in rand
Lightning Dice is in the lobby at 12 operators we list: all of them take cards; 11 take Ozow; 7 take Capitec Pay; 11 take cash vouchers.
The smallest first deposit for Lightning Dice among them is R1, at Luckyfish.
Lightning Dice winnings are paid by EFT to an account in your own name, after FICA.
Get FICA done first · How to deposit in rand · Every payment method
Is Lightning Dice legal in South Africa? 📜
Lightning Dice is a live dealer game, which licensed bookmakers carry under their provincial betting licences.
All 12 operators we list for Lightning Dice hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money ⚠️
Set your Lightning Dice budget and a deposit limit before the first round, not after a losing one. If it stops being fun, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation helpline is free on 0800 006 008.
Pros, cons and verdict ⚖️
- Evolution's help publishes the full payout table and the RTP range
- Any Triple carries the best RTP, 96.57% by Evolution's own figure
- Three standard dice in a see-through tower: easy to follow
- A struck 3 or 18 pays up to 1,000x the bet, stake included
- Before lightning, the regular payouts return 62.5% to 83.3% on our sums
- Low and High both lose on 10 and 11, the most common totals
- The 1,000x needs a struck 3 or 18 at the top of its range; each lands in 1 of 216 rolls
Lightning Dice is easy to follow: three dice, one total, and a payout table Evolution publishes in full. The regular payouts are set low, and the 96.03% to 96.57% Evolution quotes is reached only with lightning wins counted in. By our sums Any Double leans least on lightning, Any Triple has the best published return, and the 1,000x belongs to a struck 3 or 18. Choose a bet for the session you want, not to beat the game.
Lightning Dice FAQ ❓
What is the RTP of Lightning Dice?
Evolution's help puts it between 96.03% and 96.57% depending on the bet, with Any Triple the best at 96.57%. On our sums from Evolution's payout table, the regular payouts alone return 62.5% to 83.3%, so lightning wins make up the rest of that figure over many rounds.
What is the biggest win in Lightning Dice?
Evolution's figure is 1,000 times the bet, stake included, and only a total of 3 or 18 can reach it: up to 999:1 plus the stake when lightning has struck that total in the round it lands, 149:1 without. The help does not say how often that happens.
Can I bet on a number after lightning strikes it?
No. Evolution's help says lightning strikes after betting time has expired, so the multipliers appear only once bets are closed. On the current grid it strikes two to four spots a round, numbers or the four extra bets.
Are the dice in Lightning Dice real?
Evolution's launch release says the presenter drops three standard dice into the transparent Lightning Tower and players bet on their total. It calls the multipliers RNG-based: they come from a random number generator, the total from the dice. If a result is not clear, the help lets the service manager order a re-roll.
Who makes Lightning Dice and when did it come out?
Evolution, which announced it on 13 June 2019 as the latest member of its Lightning family, following Lightning Roulette, and a few weeks after its Super Sic Bo dice game.
Where to play Lightning Dice in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying Lightning Dice, each with its licence and our score, and the date where we saw the game in the lobby ourselves. Ordered by that score. How we score Offers checked September 2026.
Also carrying Lightning Dice. Bonus, payment and payout terms for each are on its review.