Lottery some decades ago was alien in Nigeria. However, this is one game that is widely popular in developed countries to make a select few a ton richer. Lotteries started getting serious in 2005 when the Lottery Act was established, and it seemed that the government could track the activities. However, even at that time, it didn't gain this much attention as it has garnered recently.
For the sake of this article, we will be looking into the progression of lotteries especially in Nigeria and provide answers to how to play the lottery online.
History
Lotteries were not exactly existent in Nigeria before the early 2000s. However, it was brought in by Ghanaians. The oldest known lottery operator is called Premier Lotto Limited which is widely called Baba Ijebu. Baba Ijebu became established in 2001 and that was even before the Lottery Act came to be. At the time, the lottery wasn't as widely known as it is now and players couldn't play online too.
Players had to participate in the lottery every Saturday at certain shops. After playing, the player will be given a ticket that confirms their bet. All players will have to wait for the draw to be released and when they get the right combination of numbers, they become winners. Between that time and now, playing the lottery has been revolutionized and now there are even more options.
National Lottery Regulatory Commission
Prior to 2005 when the lottery act was established in Nigeria, playing lottery was seen as illegal. However, after the government got to see the economic importance of allowing it in the country, some adjustments were made. By that time, other African countries like Ghana were already on board with it and getting massive revenue as a result. With the Lottery Act, the commission was able to keep track of the activities of the lottery operators. As a duty, the Commission made sure these operators were properly scrutinized and most importantly, taxed too.
Top Online Lottery Operators in Nigeria
Now that Lottery has become mainstream in Nigeria, a lot of operators out there keep sprouting every single day. However, two main operators have become the mainstay in that industry.
Western Lotto
Western Lotto is one of the top lottery platforms in Nigeria with over a million active users. The platform doesn't just focus on national lotteries alone, but also international lotteries and a bunch of casino games. With Western Lotto, your betting options are not limited. You can easily participate in a lottery via your phone and cash out funds easily without having to go to any shop.
Plenty Millions
Plenty Millions is another renowned lottery platform that's owned by EG & H Integrated Concepts. Like the Western Lotto, they are a highly reputable lottery platform. Unlike the former that's been discussed, Plenty Millions focuses only on lotteries. In the Plenty Millions game, you are expected to pick six numbers between 1 and 40. A draw will take place and those who have the winning combination of numbers will be announced winners.
Top Lottery Tips
One of the key aspects of knowing how to play lottery online is having some important tips to make you successful with it. If you just get into it without educating yourself, you might just have to keep playing without getting anywhere.
To help you ease into it, we will be discussing some insightful lottery tips that you'd find useful:
Buy more tickets
This is the most popular advice you will get about playing the lottery and it is common sense. If you buy more tickets, you will play different combinations and it increases your chances of winning. However, this is not a foolproof plan because you could buy as many as 1000 tickets and not be successful with one. Eventually, you end up wasting money. So if you are just starting, you can play more than one ticket, but do not go overboard.
Have a Budget
Lotteries in Nigeria are usually open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You have to understand that putting all your earnings into it is the fastest way to ruin your finances. It is always advisable to have a slim budget that you can play with. This budget has to be something that you can afford to lose, after taking out other more important expenses.
Identify Hot Numbers, Cold Numbers, and Overdue Numbers
This is a more proactive winning strategy that you can apply as you indulge in the weekly lotteries. Hot Numbers are the numbers that have been picked the most recently. Cold numbers are the numbers that are least picked frequently. Overdue numbers are numbers that haven't shown up in recent weeks.
To win in the lottery, you have to be analytical. You have to study the draws for at least the last six months. You want to look out for a pattern. Look out for numbers that turn up regularly, which should be your first go-to option when picking numbers. If you select Hot Numbers, you have a higher chance of winning. So, get down to it and study the past draws.
Play Overdue Numbers
As we have noted earlier, overdue numbers are numbers that haven't shown up in recent draws. This is a counteractive strategy from playing only hot numbers. But it helps you cover some bases to a large extent. While you could be aiming at hot numbers, the draws can go a different way for the first time in a long time. In such cases, if you played differently from the regular (which is hot numbers), you stand a chance good chance to win.
Select numbers that are personal to you
While we opine that winning in the lottery is dependent on strategy, we can't help but note that luck plays a part too. For a long time now, players pick numbers that have personal meanings to them and they get lucky. You could also try it out too. These numbers could be your birthday, your parent's birthday, your child's birthday, the date you gained admission, even your favourite numbers too. Whatever numbers that you consider personal to you, you could play them and you might just be lucky.
Use lucky number generators
We can't argue that sometimes deciding your number combination can be quite tasking. In this case, having a virtual number generator do that for you can be such a relief.
Steps on How to play lottery online
Knowing how to play the lottery online could save you a lot of stress and ease the process for you. Instead of going to designated shops, you can do so from the comfort of your home. Here are major steps on how to play lottery online:
- Go to your preferred online lottery operator
- Login to your account
- Fund your account if your balance is sufficient – the minimum bet usually allowed is 50 NGN
- Select your lucky numbers
- Play as many draws as you'd like
Most of these online lottery operators also give you the alternative to play via text message. In that case, all you just have to do is text your numbers to a designated number and your ticket will be played to you.
With what has been discussed so far, we hope we have been able to answer your question on how to play lottery online, especially in Nigeria.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
