How to play
Lotto 5+2 runs two draws on every ticket. One drum holds the numbers 1 to 50 and gives up five balls. A second, smaller drum holds stars numbered 1 to 12 and gives up two. Your prize depends on how many of each you matched, and the two counts are read together: “3 + 1” means three numbers and one star.
- Tap five numbers on the main board. Tap a picked number again to drop it.
- Tap two stars on the star board underneath. The counter shows how many of each you still need.
- Choose a ticket price: 10, 50 or 100 credits.
- Press Play. The five main balls come out first, then the two gold stars, and the board marks every hit.
Quick pick replaces your ticket with a fresh random set of five numbers and two stars, and Clear wipes the slate. Your numbers, stars and ticket price are remembered, so if you like a set you can just press Play again for the next draw. The Play button stays greyed out until you have exactly five numbers and two stars.
These are fixed-odds prizes, not a shared jackpot. Each tier pays a set multiple of your ticket price no matter what happens to anyone else, and the result is decided by the game’s rules the moment you press Play. The rolling balls are just the presentation.
Pay table
Payouts are multiples of the ticket price. Odds are for a single ticket.
| Match | Pays | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 5 + 2 ★ | 5,000,000 | 1 in 139,838,160 |
| 5 + 1 ★ | 300,000 | 1 in 6,991,908 |
| 5 + 0 ★ | 100,000 | 1 in 3,107,515 |
| 4 + 2 ★ | 20,000 | 1 in 621,503 |
| 4 + 1 ★ | 1,000 | 1 in 31,075 |
| 4 + 0 ★ | 300 | 1 in 13,811 |
| 3 + 2 ★ | 500 | 1 in 14,125 |
| 3 + 1 ★ | 40 | 1 in 706 |
| 3 + 0 ★ | 20 | 1 in 314 |
| 2 + 2 ★ | 30 | 1 in 985 |
| 2 + 1 ★ | 8 | 1 in 49 |
| 1 + 2 ★ | 6 | 1 in 188 |
| 2 + 0 ★ | 6 | 1 in 22 |
Add the tiers up and roughly one ticket in 13 wins something. The long-run return is 85.14%, calculated exactly from the table above.
Where the return comes from
It’s worth looking at which rows actually pay you back over time, because it isn’t the big ones. The two smallest tiers, 2 + 0 and 2 + 1, carry about 44% of the total return between them. The full 5 + 2 line is worth only about 3.6% of the stake, because hitting it is so unlikely.
Notice also that the stars change some prizes far more than others. With three numbers, adding both stars lifts the payout from 20 to 500 times the ticket. With two numbers, both stars take you from 6 to 30. A single number pays nothing at all unless both stars come with it.
If you’ve played Big Ball Lotto, the shape here is different: that game draws one bonus ball from 26, so a matched bonus is rarer but carries more of the payout. Lotto 5+2 spreads things out over two stars from a pool of 12, which gives you more small hits. For a plain draw with no second drum, try Draw 6/49.
Strategy
There isn’t a pick that beats the table. Every set of five numbers and two stars has exactly the same chance as any other, and the draw has no memory of earlier results. Hot and cold numbers, birthdays, straight lines on the board: none of it moves the odds.
What you can control:
- Ticket size sets your pace, not your return. A 100-credit ticket and a 10-credit ticket both return 85.14% on average. Bigger tickets just swing your balance harder.
- Expect long gaps. Most tickets lose, and wins of 6 or 8 times the price are the usual ones. Size your tickets so a dry run of twenty or thirty draws doesn’t end the session.
- Treat the top rows as decoration. At about 1 in 140 million, the 5 + 2 line is something to look at, not plan around.
If you run out of credits you can top up with 1,000 free ones and keep playing.
If you enjoy Lotto 5+2, try Lucky Four Baccarat or Lucky Match next.
