The German Lotto ranks among the longest-running lottery games in Europe, with it having over 60 years experience to its name. The first draw for the German Lotto was held on the 9th October 1955. Right now the game is controlled by Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock. This is a group made up of 16 different regional German lottery draw operators. The groups share control of the lottery and the leader of the conglomerate changes every three years.
The draws for German Lotto used to be held just once a week, on a Saturday. This changed in 1982 when the group introduced a Wednesday draw. The game was changed from being a 7/38 game to the 6/49 it is named after in June 1986. There were more new rules introduced in May 2013. This brought in the Superzahl and meant that the odds of improving a prize went from being 1 in 54 overall to 1 in 31 overall.
How to Play German Lotto
You can actually buy a ticket for German Lotto online if you so choose, which has made the game accessible throughout Europe. Just go to your preferred lottery draw provider and make an account there. Then select German Lotto and choose your six numbers between 1 and 49. You also need to choose a seventh number between 0 and 9. This number acts as your Super Number (Superzahl in German). If you’d like you can also have the game pick random numbers for you, which puts your efforts when it comes to the lotto results 100% in the hands of fate. When you’ve got your numbers ready just select your payment method to buy your ticket and that’s that. All things considered the German lotto is one of the easiest lottery draw games to play.
German Lotto Prizes and Jackpots
As you’d expect with the largest lottery in a country such as Germany, there are some great prizes on offer within German Lotto. There is no cap to the jackpot as it keeps growing until someone wins it. Throw in the two draws a week and you’ve got a lot of rollovers that keep growing until someone finally secures a truly huge jackpot. In fact, the record jackpot of German Lotto comes in at an awe-inspiring €45.3 million (roughly $70 million). The best part is that a ticket to the basic game costs just €2, a lower cost than rival European lottery games.
German Lotto Side Games
The reason why we have said “basic game” so often in this article is because German Lotto also includes extra ways for you to win money. On top of the main game there are two different raffle draws to enjoy. The first is Spiel 77 (Game 77) and the other is Super6. These two games are selected automatically by default and here is a little extra information about them.
Spiel 77
One of the supplementary games of German Lotto is Spiel 77 (which translates to Game 77). Players can choose to get involved in Spiel 77 and pay an extra fee. The ticket includes a random 7-digit number, with the last number in the sequence acting as the Superzahl for the main draw. If you match up any of these numbers in order with the posted lottery results then you get your hands on a cash prize. The jackpot for Spiel 77 is worth a minimum of €177,777 and there is potential for this prize to grow in the event that no one can match the listed numbers exactly.
Super 6
Super 6 is similar to Spiel 77 in that it is a side game that you can have added to your German Lotto ticket. In this game you also use the same seven digit number you get for Spiel 77, but you disregard the first number. There are a lot of prizes on offer here too. Matching just the Superzahl will score you €2,50 while matching all of the numbers in order will score you the big prize of €100,000.
The Biggest German Lotto Winners
German Lotto is one of the richest national lottery games in Europe. Both weekly draws have a minimum jackpot, with rollover jackpots happening all the time. As a result, German Lotto is popular all around the world and not just in Europe. The largest jackpot ever won was around €59 million. Three people won this prize back in 2007. The biggest jackpot before that was won on the October 7th 2006, coming in at a cool €37,688,292.
How to Improve Your German Lotto Chances
As so many people play the German Lottery everyone is looking for ways to improve their odds and win the jackpot in the process. You could try searching the World Wide Web for hints on how to win the German Lotto and methods that promises to “guarantee a win”. Unfortunately any result you find is likely to be something you can’t actually do, which at times can prove to be worse than useless.
Because German Lotto numbers are drawn at random there isn’t really a way to predict the numbers 100% of the time. Saying that there are still some things in place that allow you to make good choices and improve your odds of getting a cash prize.
Mix It Up
It’s important that you pick out a good spread of numbers. Most people tend to stick to birthdays but you really shouldn’t. If you do you’re really limiting your spread as you’re picking from between 1 and 31, rather than the full 49 numbers available. Pick some of the larger numbers. Not to mention if you stick to birthdays and anniversaries you could end up splitting the money with all the other people who happen to have the same birthday and anniversary dates as you. Pick numbers from across the entire board to increase your chances of being a solo winner or, at the very least, sharing with just a few people.
Stand by Your Numbers
When you’ve decided on a group of numbers that you think is a solid choice, you should play them every single time. If you’re playing more than one ticket then choose a different set of numbers. Remember that the set of numbers is what wins the prize, not the individual numbers themselves.
In it to win it
You should never miss a drawing if you’re playing the lottery. How would you feel if the one-week you didn’t buy a lottery ticket was the one-week where your regular numbers popped up?
German Lotto Goes for it All!
The German Lotto has two draws a week with guaranteed minimum jackpots and more cash prizes than any other national lottery. It’s not hard to see why it’s popular with people all over the world. It’s definitely one of the biggest lotto games in Europe too, as the jackpot starts at €1.3 million on Wednesday and goes up to €2.6 million on Saturday. They also go much higher over time thanks to the rollovers. Put it all together and you have a game that pays out at least €3.6 billion a year, and this is what makes German Lotto must play!