Oz Lotto, Powerball and Saturday Lotto: how they work and which has the best odds

Saturday Lotto has the best division 1 odds of Australia's three national lotto games: 1 in 8,145,060 per game. Oz Lotto is about 7.7 times harder at 1 in 62,891,499, and Powerball is the hardest at 1 in 134,490,400. All three are run by The Lott (Australia's Official Lotteries). Oz Lotto is drawn on Tuesday, Powerball on Thursday and Saturday Lotto on Saturday, each after 7.30pm AEST.

The trade-off is jackpot size. Longer odds mean division 1 is won less often, so Oz Lotto and Powerball jackpots tend to roll over and grow larger, while Saturday Lotto is the most realistic shot at the top prize. This guide compares the formats, shows how each odds figure is calculated, and gives a verdict by goal.

Oz Lotto, Powerball and Saturday Lotto side by side

Formats, draw nights and times come from The Lott's how-to-play pages, checked on 11 October 2026. The Oz Lotto odds match The Lott's published figure; the Powerball and Saturday Lotto odds are LottaGo's calculations, shown below. LottaGo hasn't verified Australian game prices or the full division tables, so this guide leaves them out. Check them on The Lott's site before you play.

How the odds are calculated

Division 1 needs every main number on one game, plus the Powerball in Powerball. The odds are 1 in the number of different games you could play, counted with combinations: C(n, k) is the number of ways to choose k numbers from n when order doesn't matter.

• Saturday Lotto: C(45, 6) = (45 × 44 × 43 × 42 × 41 × 40) ÷ 720 = 8,145,060
• Oz Lotto: C(47, 7) = 62,891,499, which is exactly the figure The Lott publishes
• Powerball: C(35, 7) × C(20, 1) = 6,724,520 × 20 = 134,490,400

Supplementary numbers don't enter these sums. They are drawn after the main numbers and play no part in division 1, which the Oz Lotto check confirms: C(47,7) alone gives The Lott's own figure. The Powerball is different. You choose it yourself from a second pool, so it multiplies the count by 20.

Two quirks follow. Powerball's main game is actually the easiest of the three to match on its own: 7 from 35 has 6,724,520 combinations, fewer than Saturday Lotto's 8,145,060. It is the 1-in-20 Powerball that pushes division 1 past the other two. And Oz Lotto's extra seventh number is what makes it so much harder than Saturday Lotto, even though its pool is only two balls bigger.

Oz Lotto: 7 from 47 on Tuesdays

Oz Lotto is The Lott's Tuesday game. You pick 7 numbers from 1 to 47 on each game, and the draw produces 7 winning numbers plus 3 supplementary numbers. The draw takes place after 7.30pm AEST, with the broadcast at about 8.30pm AEST (9.30pm AEDT in daylight-saving states).

Odds: 1 in 62,891,499 for division 1, as published by The Lott.

Who it suits: players who want a large jackpot each week and accept long odds. At the latest update, the Oz Lotto jackpot is — and the next draw is on Oct 20, 2026.

What to know: the seventh number is what makes Oz Lotto so much harder than Saturday Lotto. Many people ask "how many numbers do you need to win Oz Lotto": all 7 for division 1, fewer for the lower divisions, as set out in The Lott's prize table.

LottaGo counts Oz Lotto statistics from May 24, 2022, when its current format begins in LottaGo's data. Since then the most drawn main numbers are 21, 30, 47, 17, 4, and 39, over 229 draws. That is history, not a forecast. See the latest Oz Lotto results to check a ticket.

Powerball: 7 from 35 plus a Powerball on Thursdays

Powerball is drawn on Thursday after 7.30pm AEST. You pick 7 numbers from 1 to 35 and 1 Powerball from 1 to 20. The Powerball comes from a separate pool, so the same number can appear among your main numbers and as your Powerball.

Odds: 1 in 134,490,400 for division 1, calculated by LottaGo as C(35,7) × 20.

Who it suits: players chasing the biggest Australian jackpots. At the latest update the Powerball jackpot is A$100,000,000 and the next draw is on Oct 15, 2026.

What to know: Australian Powerball is not the US game. US Powerball uses 5 numbers from 1–69 plus a Powerball from 1–26 and is drawn on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, US Eastern Time. The two have different odds, different prizes and separate results. If you landed here from a US search, our guide to how to play US Powerball covers that game.

LottaGo's Powerball statistics count only draws since Apr 19, 2018, under the current 7-from-35 plus 1-from-20 format. The most drawn main numbers over those 443 draws are 9, 17, 7, 11, 18, and 14. Check the latest Powerball results Australia for the winning numbers and Powerball.

Saturday Lotto: 6 from 45 on Saturdays

Saturday Lotto is drawn on Saturday after 7.30pm AEST (8.30pm AEDT). You pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45, and the draw produces 6 winning numbers plus 2 supplementary numbers.

Odds: 1 in 8,145,060 for division 1, calculated as C(45,6). It is the same matrix as Ireland's Lotto since its 2026 change, so the two share identical jackpot odds.

Who it suits: players who would rather have a realistic shot at division 1 than the largest possible jackpot.

What to know: Saturday Lotto is also searched as "TattsLotto". LottaGo lists The Lott's national Saturday draw as Saturday Lotto; how the game is branded where you live is shown on The Lott's site.

Since Jan 6, 2018, the most drawn Saturday Lotto main numbers are 8, 10, 1, 11, 42, and 17, over 458 draws. The latest Saturday Lotto results show the winning and supplementary numbers.

Do hot or overdue numbers help in any of them?

No. Each draw is random and independent, so a number that came up last week has the same chance this week. LottaGo tests this openly. A walk-forward backtest runs five statistical strategies behind its AI Agent (hot numbers, overdue numbers, all-time leaders, typical shape and frequent pairs) over up to the last 150 draws and compares them with random picks, using only earlier draws each time. Oz Lotto's current format has fewer than 150 draws to test so far. For Oz Lotto:

The strategies perform like random picks, and the Powerball and Saturday Lotto pages show their own backtests with the same result. A pattern in past results doesn't change the odds in the table above.

Which should you play? Verdict by goal

If you play more than one game, the odds don't combine into a better chance for any single draw. Each game is a separate draw with its own odds. Set a weekly budget across all three before you start.

Common mistakes when comparing the three games

• Mixing up the two Powerballs. A US-style line of 5 numbers plus a Powerball doesn't fit an Australian Powerball game, which needs 7 main numbers from 1–35 and a Powerball from 1–20.
• Counting supplementaries toward division 1. They are drawn after the main numbers and never complete a division 1 win. Check them only for the lower divisions.
• Comparing jackpots without the odds. A Powerball jackpot several times larger than Saturday Lotto's also comes with odds about 16.5 times longer.
• Assuming a "due" game. A jackpot that has rolled over for weeks is no more likely to be won by your line tonight. Rollovers change the prize, not the chance per game.
• Reading old statistics as current. LottaGo counts Oz Lotto and Powerball statistics only from the start of their current formats, so older draws under different rules don't distort the numbers.

How to check your ticket

1. Find the game and the draw date or draw number on your ticket.
2. Open the results for that game: Oz Lotto results, Powerball results Australia or Saturday Lotto results.
3. Count the main numbers you matched on each game, then check the supplementaries or the Powerball separately.
4. Confirm the division and prize with The Lott or your retailer. Their results are final, and only they can pay a prize.

For every game LottaGo covers, the odds of all 45 lotteries are compared on one page.

FAQ

Which has better odds, Oz Lotto or Powerball?

Oz Lotto. Its division 1 odds are 1 in 62,891,499, against 1 in 134,490,400 for Australian Powerball, so Oz Lotto is about 2.1 times easier to win outright. Powerball's main game is easier to match, but its separate 1-in-20 Powerball more than doubles the overall difficulty.

Which Australian lottery is easiest to win?

Of the three national lotto games, Saturday Lotto: 6 numbers from 45 give 1 in 8,145,060 for division 1. That is the best of the three by a wide margin. The price of those odds is a jackpot that rolls over less often and usually stays smaller.

How many numbers do you need to win Oz Lotto?

All 7 main numbers for division 1. The lower divisions need fewer main numbers, some combined with supplementaries, and The Lott's prize table lists exactly which matches pay. LottaGo hasn't verified that table, so check it on The Lott's site.

Is Oz Lotto hard to win?

The jackpot is: 1 in 62,891,499 per game. Playing one game every Tuesday, you would expect to wait well over a million years on average for a division 1 win. Lower divisions are far more common, but their prizes are much smaller.

Is Saturday Lotto the same as TattsLotto?

As far as LottaGo's results go, yes: "TattsLotto" is a name many players search for The Lott's national Saturday draw, which LottaGo lists as Saturday Lotto, with 6 numbers from 1 to 45 and 2 supplementaries. Check The Lott's site for the name used in your state. The game, the numbers and the odds of 1 in 8,145,060 are the same whatever it is called.

What is Oz Lotto up to this week?

The Oz Lotto jackpot is — at the latest update, and the next draw is on Oct 20, 2026. LottaGo refreshes it after every Tuesday draw. The Oz Lotto results page shows the latest winning numbers.

Lotteries are for adults (18+): play for fun, within a budget you set in advance.