Lotto Predictions: How Daily Lotto, Lotto, PowerBall and UK 49's Draws Are Decided
If you are looking for Daily Lotto, SA Lotto or UK 49's predictions, start with how each draw is decided by the operators' own rules and, for the National Lottery, the chance its rules give a board, whoever picked its numbers.
On this page
How the National Lottery draws its numbers
Since 1 June 2026 South Africa's National Lottery has been run by Sizekhaya, regulated by the National Lotteries Commission. Its official game rules, published on its own site, set out each game.
Daily Lotto: you pick five numbers from 1 to 36, at R3 a board, and a draw takes place every night. The rules say each draw is made by a certified random number generator, which they describe as producing numbers in a manner that is "statistically random, unpredictable, and free from human influence or bias", and that the draw is not broadcast live.
Lotto: six numbers from 1 to 52, at R5 a board, drawn on Wednesday and Saturday evenings; seven balls are drawn, the seventh being the Bonus Ball. PowerBall: five numbers from 1 to 50 and a PowerBall from a separate set of 1 to 16, at R10 a board, drawn on Tuesday and Friday evenings. For both, the rules allow "officially approved drawing equipment or a certified Random Number Generator", and say the draw is broadcast live on television where reasonably practicable.
Every draw, by the rules, takes place "in the presence of independent auditors and/or regulatory representatives", and if a published result ever differs, the numbers the independent auditors certify are the official result.
The chance of one board, by the rules
The rules print one chance for each prize division, the same for every board whatever numbers it carries. These are the top divisions, with the price of a board.
| Game | Your numbers | A board | Top prize: 1 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Lotto | 5 from 1 to 36 | R3 | 376,992 |
| Lotto | 6 from 1 to 52 | R5 | 20,358,520 |
| PowerBall | 5 from 1 to 50, plus 1 from 1 to 16 | R10 | 33,900,160 |
How UK 49's draws its numbers
UK 49's is run by 49's Limited, a company registered in England and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. Six numbers plus a seventh, the Booster, are drawn from balls numbered 1 to 49, four times a day: Brunchtime at 11:49, Lunchtime at 12:49, Drivetime at 16:49 and Teatime at 17:49, UK time.
Its FAQ says every draw takes place live from its studio in Manchester and that the numbers are "drawn completely at random from the 49's Ball Draw machine". 49's calls its products "fixed odds numbers bets" rather than a lottery with a shared prize pot, and says its rules are "just a guide": what a bet pays is set by the bookmaker that takes it. In South Africa bookmakers sell it as a Lucky Numbers bet, some under a name of their own.
49's also shows "hot" and "cold" balls, which it defines as the three numbers drawn most often and the three drawn least often over the last 56 draws: a count of draws that have already happened.
What a predicted set of numbers can change
By these rules every draw is random, and the chance the rules give a board is the same whatever numbers are on it. A set of numbers someone predicts, sells or shares in a group is one more board with that same chance: 1 in 376,992 for the Daily Lotto jackpot, however it was chosen.
Hot and cold numbers describe past draws. Each draw is made at random from the full set of numbers, so a number that came up often recently is no more likely to come up next time than any other.
So what a paid prediction or a number "system" sells is a choice of numbers, not a better chance for any board. What you can decide is how many boards you buy and how often you play, and with them how much you spend.
Lucky Numbers at a bookmaker
A Lucky Numbers bet at a South African bookmaker is a fixed-odds bet on the result of a draw such as these: the bookmaker sets the odds and settles the bet, and the draw decides the numbers. Which draws each bookmaker names is set out draw by draw on our lottery page.
Keeping it a game
With a draw every night and four a day from the UK, it is easy to play more than planned. Set an amount before you start. If lotto or betting stops being fun, the National Responsible Gambling Programme's counselling line is 0800 006 008, and our responsible gambling page lists the warning signs.
Lotto predictions FAQ
Can Daily Lotto numbers be predicted?
By its rules, Daily Lotto numbers come from a certified random number generator, which the rules call unpredictable. Every board has the same chance of the jackpot, 1 in 376,992, whoever chose the numbers.
What are the odds of winning SA Lotto?
1 in 20,358,520 for the jackpot (all six main numbers), by Sizekhaya's Lotto rules. A prize needs at least three of the seven numbers drawn, and the smallest prize division, three main numbers, has a chance of 1 in 72.
Do hot and cold numbers help with UK 49's?
49's defines them as the numbers drawn most and least often over the last 56 draws, so they describe past draws. Its FAQ says the numbers are "drawn completely at random", so past counts do not change the chance of the next draw.
What time is the Daily Lotto draw?
The rules say only that a draw takes place every night, give no time, and say the draw is not broadcast live.
How does PowerBall work?
You pick five numbers from 1 to 50 and a PowerBall from 1 to 16, at R10 a board; draws are on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and the jackpot chance is 1 in 33,900,160, by the PowerBall rules.