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Tuesday, July 27 2010
LOTTO REACHES 1000TH DRAW MILESTONE
South Africa’s first national lottery game LOTTO has reached the 1000th draw milestone, national lottery operator Gidani said.
The game, whose first draw took place on Saturday, 11 March 2000, now boasts 968 millionaires, 320 million winners from other divisions as well as a host of new sales channels from which players can make purchases.
To date, an amount of R17 billion in LOTTO prize money has been paid out to the millionaires.
LOTTO’s inaugural Jackpot which was an estimated R3 million, produced six winners from the first division, each walking away with R511, 550.
However, that was only a precursor as three weeks later, the game gave birth to its first multimillionaire who pocketed an unbelievable R13, 8 million Jackpot on the 8th of April in 2000. This windfall was a realization of an initial R3 million jackpot that rolled over three times.
To add excitement to the lottery, LOTTO advanced from being a once- a-week affair to being played twice a week – on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The first Wednesday draw was held on October 3 2001. That same month, the Quick Pick option, which allows retail terminals to randomly select numbers, was launched.
In November 2003, LOTTO’s add-on game LOTTO Plus was introduced, giving players a second chance to win.
The largest winner in the history of the game is a Gauteng player who won R34 million on 08 March 2006. The Jackpot was a culmination of a rollover from a guaranteed R30 million Jackpot that was in celebration of the game’s 6th birthday.
On March 29 2008, South Africans were treated to the biggest ever guaranteed LOTTO Jackpot of R40 million. The prize, which marked a turning point in the history of the South African lottery, was won by three winners who bagged R13,3 million each.
Gidani spokesperson Thembi Tulwana said the LOTTO game’s journey has been a fascinating one with heart-warming real-life stories.
“One of these is that of the very first LOTTO multimillionaire who worked as a driver and had selected his winning numbers by using his birthday date, the date of his first plane flight, the dates when his mother and father died, and the date when five of his uncles died in a car crash,” said Tulwana.
He was also among the few winners who acceded to go public.
Another story is of a self-employed man whose business was in tatters and his assets were being repossessed before he was rescued by lady luck and won just over R15 million last year. He had also just lost a relative and did not know where he was going to get money for the burial.
This story is about an unemployed man who had been retrenched due to the economic recession. He won R19 million last year after he had lost hope of ever finding another job. With his new found wealth, he built his parents a family home and started his own business.
Draw number 849 of February 7, 2009 marks an incredible day when 18 millionaires were created. These lucky individuals shared R21, 898 million, thus making each one of them R1, 216 million richer.
Tulwana said the game has evolved in many respects since its inception 10 years ago.
She said one of the changes effected last May was the rollover rule, which states that a jackpot can rollover as many times until it is won.
“Initially, the Jackpot could rollover for no more than five consecutive draws after which if there was no winner, then the entire prize pool for the first division (match six numbers category) was added to the second division (match five numbers plus bonus) and divided accordingly.
The highest jackpot won after the rollover rule change is R28 million which was won on draw number 945 in January this year and was a culmination of seven rollovers that began with a R1, 359 million jackpot.
She said the game’s player base has matured and diversified over the years, “making it necessary for us to introduce innovative ways to accommodate the variety of needs at hand”.
Today, said Tulwana, players can access the games in the comfort of their homes via internet and sms playing channels.
“In an era where technology has become key to our daily lives, it was relevant for us to introduce flexibility and convenience when participating in lotto games. Players now also enjoy a variety of channels such as the FNB cellphone banking and PlaySAlottery, our official online and sms channels.
“These channels, without a doubt, are indicative of the diverse, sophisticated yet demanding player base that we now have.”
She said it is a myth to think that the lottery appealed only to poor people.
“History tells us that players come from all walks of life. In fact, we have seen an across-the-board representation of winners.”
Among the many success stories that have come out of the South African lottery’s testament is the money raised for Good Causes and the jobs created.
“The lottery machine has a dedicated call centre, regional field services centres which are companies contracted to provide technical support to retailers and conduct preventative maintenance of equipment and field marketing people contracted to provide retailer accreditation services, to name a few,” said Tulwana.
The call centre, which fields just under a million calls a month, currently employs 60 people, while the regional field services centres employ 80 people and the field marketing agency comprises of 55 staff members.
“This is a record that we are immensely proud of as it points to the lottery’s fulfillment of its mandate, which is to contribute towards the country’s social and economic development,” she said.
Issued by Thembi Tulwana
CE: Corporate Affairs, Gidani
Tel: 011 564-0053
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