Norway Lotto is a national game that is incredibly popular in Norway.
Launched when lottery didn’t have much of a hold on the country, the game quickly became a national favourite.
With an easy format, great prizes and special SuperLotto draws throughout the year, it’s easy to see why it’s popular.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to play it and how you can buy Norway Lotto tickets online.
About Norway Lotto
Norway Lotto was launched in April 1986 by Norsk Tipping AS, the organisation responsible for state lotteries. Norsk Tipping AS is run by the Norwegian government.
Since launching, the game has helped put billions of dollars back into the Norwegian economy. The original goal of launching the game was to help fundraise for the improvement of sports and culture.
The format has remained largely unchanged since the first draw in 1986. However, prior to 2015, two bonus balls were drawn instead of one.
Norway Lotto also offers bonus games in the form of Joker and the occasional SuperLotto draw.
SuperLotto draws happen once or twice a year and offer an even bigger jackpot pool than the weekly game.
Norway Lotto Draws
Norway Lotto is a weekly game. Draws are held every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CET.
The draws are broadcast live on television, often receiving very high viewership ratings.
How to Play Norway Lotto
Norway Lotto has a straightforward 7/34 format. This means players choose seven numbers from a ball pool of 1 through 34.
To win the top prize, a player must match all seven of the numbers.
There is also one additional number that is drawn, which only impacts the second-highest prize tier. The additional number is selected from the same ball pool, and players do not have to choose this bonus number.
A single, standard ticket for Norway Lotto costs just NOK 5 when purchased within the country. Players who buy tickets online from third-party lotto websites may have to pay an additional cost.
Norway Lotto players also have the option to add a game to their ticket, called Joker.
For Joker, players are randomly assigned five numbers. Players must match two, three, four or five of the numbers in the same order as the winning number.
Joker can be played as a standalone game and costs an additional NOK 20 per line.
Norway Lotto also offers a special SuperLotto draw at certain times throughout the year.
SuperLotto is a raffle draw, and every player who buys a line for Norway Lotto is entered into it. There is one entry per line, so the more lines purchased the more entries into the next SuperLotto draw.
Each winning entry wins NOK 1 million. The prize pool is typically around NOK 50 million, so in that instance there would be 50 winners.
Players are entered into the SuperLotto draw at no additional cost.
Players within Norway can buy tickets in person from official retailers. Players outside of Norway can buy tickets online from popular lottery sites.
,Norway Lotto Prizes and Odds
There are a total of five prize tiers in Norway Lotto, with the lowest prize requiring four number matches.
As previously mentioned, it takes a seven-number match to win the jackpot.
The additional ball only impacts the second-highest prize, so players must match six numbers plus the additional number.
Norway Lotto has a minimum guaranteed jackpot of NOK 2.5 million.
Every time there is no winner, the jackpot rolls over to the following week’s draw. There are no caps on either rollovers or jackpots.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 5,379,616. These are pretty great odds for a national lottery. However, the starting jackpot is pretty small for these odds.
Compare Norway Lotto’s odds and jackpot to Japan Loto 6. Japan Loto 6 has a guaranteed jackpot of YEN 200 million, much higher than Norway Lotto’s. It also has comparable odds of 1 in 6,096,454.
However, Japan Loto 6 tickets costs approximately three times as much as Norway Lotto’s. Japan Loto also has a jackpot cap, while Norway Lotto does not.
The overall odds of winning any prize in Norway Lotto are 1 in 11.
Prizes are awarded based on a percentage of the prize fund.
The full breakdown of the prizes and odds are as follows:
Numbers Matched | Odds of Winning | Prize Fund Percentage |
7 | 1 in 5,379,616 | 37.2% - Jackpot |
6 + Bonus Number | 1 in 256,172 | 5.25% |
6 | 1 in 32,021 | 5.5% |
5 | 1 in 928 | 6% |
4 | 1 in 53 | 38.7% |
Claiming Norway Lotto Prizes
Lucky winners have up to 60 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize.
All Norway Lotto prizes are paid out as lump sums.
Fortunately, Norway does not tax lottery prizes. However, international players may be subject to their local tax laws.
Notable Norway Lotto Winners
Thanks to the rolling jackpot, the prize can grow pretty steadily.
The biggest jackpot prize in Norway Lotto history was awarded after a draw in 2012. The lucky winner took home NOK 46.8 million.
Norway Lotto-Should You Play?
There are many great reasons to play Norway Lotto.
From the easy format, cheap tickets, tax-free prizes and good odds, this is a great game for everyone!