Lotto 6aus49

• Next Estimated Jackpot EUR 4,349,008
• Germany
• 07/27/2024 16:25:00

As the name suggests, the German lottery known as Lotto 6aus49 challenges players to correctly predict six balls from a pot of 1-49. In this sense it is similar to some other international lotteries, including the original rules of the UK's National Lottery draw. However, the German lottery differs in that the seventh 'bonus' ball drawn - called the Superzahl, and numbered from 0-9 - must also be matched in order to claim the jackpot. If you match '6 from 49' without the Superzahl, despite that being the name of the game, you will only claim the second prize tier of about €600,000.

You don't choose your own Superzahl number. Instead, it is allocated to you based on the last digit of your coupon number. If you like to play the exact same numbers in each draw, this could be an unwelcome approach, as it makes it impossible to get a precise Superzahl number, but it does help to keep the payouts fair on some of the more traditionally 'lucky' digits.

How to Play

A single ticket costs €1, although the retailer may charge you a handling fee for processing your play slip. To win the jackpot, you will need to match all six main draw balls from 1-49 - you choose these on the play slip, or can use an autopick feature to generate them automatically for you - and you must also match the Superzahl, numbered 0-9. You cannot choose this yourself, but it instead matches against the last digit of your lottery ticket number.

Draws take place twice a week on Wednesday at 06:25 p.m. and Saturday at 07:25 p.m.

In total, there are nine prize divisions, and between them these share half of all ticket revenues. The German lottery also operates several other games, including Spiel 77, Super6 and the GlücksSpirale, which act as side-games to the main draw. Spiel 77 and Super6 draws take place on both Wednesday and Saturday, with a single weekly GlücksSpirale draw each Saturday too.

Fast Facts

6aus49 dates back to 1955 and is the most popular lottery in Germany.

The 'Superzahl' is unusual because instead of choosing it, players are assigned a number according to the last digit of their lottery ticket's coupon number.

As a result, there should be roughly the same number of people with each individual Superzahl - rather than a disproportionate number of people choosing 'lucky 7', for instance.

Trivia

The chances of matching six numbers and claiming the second prize are around 15.5 million to one. This differs from lotteries where the jackpot is won by choosing 6 from 49, at odds closer to 14 million to one. The reason for this discrepancy is because some tickets that match all six main draw numbers will also match the Superzahl, accounting for around one in ten winners; as such, the chance of 'only' winning the second-prize tier is reduced, as a tenth of those tickets are elevated into the jackpot tier instead.

Prize Tiers