Lottery guides
Plain-English explainers for AU and NZ lottery games — division mechanics, odds in context, and the differences between visually similar games on opposite sides of the Tasman.
Guide
How Saturday Lotto divisions work
Saturday Lotto pays six divisions. Division 1 needs all six main numbers; everything below mixes the mains with the two supplementary numbers drawn after the main pool. Here's exactly how each tier works.
Guide
Powerball AU vs NZ: same name, very different games
They share a brand and a vibe but they're structurally different products. Australian Powerball is a standalone 7-of-35 + Powerball draw with an uncapped jackpot. New Zealand Powerball is a 1-of-10 booster you tick on top of an NZ Lotto entry.
Guide
Oz Lotto's 7-of-47 odds, broken down
Oz Lotto picks 7 mains from 1–47 plus 3 supplementary numbers. The combination of a deeper main pool and three supps changes the shape of every division — Division 1 odds land at 1 in 62.9 million, sitting between AU Powerball (harder) and Saturday Lotto (easier).
Guide
NZ Lotto vs Powerball: which to play?
NZ Lotto on its own is the small, friendly game with a NZ$1M Must-Be-Won jackpot. Adding Powerball for NZ$1 transforms it into a NZ$50M-cap booster. Whether that NZ$1 is 'worth it' depends entirely on how you frame expected value.
Guide
Estimated vs final jackpots: why the headline number changes
The number on the billboard before draw night is an estimate. The number on the news after draw night is the final amount. They're often different, sometimes by tens of millions. Here's why.