SINGAPORE – The night of Nov 6 was a special one for at least 11 people after their
winning Toto bet collectively won the prize pool of $12,286,496
.
But how is it possible for a single bet – in this case, an iToto System 12 entry – to be split by these parties, and just how much do they take home? Will they now be able to afford fish in their economy rice meals?
Here’s a breakdown of the Toto system and how it works.
In 1968, Toto was established as Singapore Pool’s first lottery game.
According to the Singapore Pool’s website, the name was derived from the words “totalisator”, which is a word for an instrument for wagering or betting, and “lotto”.
To participate in a Toto draw, punters pick at least six numbers between 1 and 49 in an entry. This can be done by manually selecting the numbers or allowing the system to randomly generate a set of numbers via an option known as “Quick Pick”.
Toto draws are conducted on Mondays and Thursdays at 6.30pm.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
If one buys only six numbers, the bet is known as an “Ordinary” bet, which costs $1.
However, selecting seven or more numbers, up to a maximum of 12 per bet – known as System 7 for seven numbers, System 8 for eight numbers, and so on – increases the chances of winning, but also the minimum bet cost required.
This is because seven numbers would increase the possible number of combinations in the entry to seven instead of just one, and would therefore cost $7 – a dollar per combination.
As such, a System 8 entry would cost $28 for 28 possible combinations, with a System 12 costing $924.
Toto draws are conducted on Mondays and Thursdays at 6.30pm.
However, if there are three consecutive draws without a jackpot winner, the draw becomes known as a “cascade draw” with a snowballed prize. These draws are conducted at 9.30pm on draw days instead.
