Superdraws and Megadraws
Superdraws are lottery draws that have jackpot prizes which are a good deal bigger than in regular draws, and are created to excite existing players and encourage new ones to participate. Many Australian lottery companies reserve a modest amount of money raised in each regular draw to fund future Superdraws, so the cost for a player to enter a Superdraw is generally the same as it would be to enter any other draw.
Superdraws are great things for both Australian lottery companies and for the players themselves. Because the larger jackpots of Superdraws attract more players, they help to make the regular lottery game more popular. The idea here is that if a new lottery player doesn’t win a Superdraw, he or she may well choose to play the normal lottery game the following week, and eventually become a consistent player.
As far as players are concerned, a Superdraw does two things. First, it gives them a chance to win a lot more money for the same outlay. For example, the guaranteed minimum top prize in Tattslotto is $4 million, but in a Superdraw it could be $20 million, giving lottery players five times the potential wealth. Secondly, the larger Superdraw jackpots offer more value for money, because although the prize is much bigger (as we have just seen) the odds of matching the numbers remain exactly the same as usual. Superdraws are therefore a win-win for both players and the companies that are prudent enough to offer them.
Most Australian lottery companies offer several Superdraws each year, and at the end of each year there is a Megadraw which has a jackpot even larger than in Superdraw games. The Megadraw takes place on the final Saturday of each year or on New Year’s Eve, depending on how that falls, and is so popular that many Australian players give Megadraw tickets to friends and family members as Christmas presents.
