Lottery balls have come a long way since Australia's first draws more than 100 years ago. Not only are they meticulously made and weighed, they’re also under a lot of security to ensure a fun and fair game for everyone. 

If you’re curious to know more about the essential element behind every Saturday Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, and Weekday Windfall winner, then get ready to roll. We’ve got the answers to some frequently asked lottery ball questions. 

What are Australian lottery balls made of?

While Australia’s earliest lottery draws used wooden marbles, today The Lott’s balls are made of a polymer foam. There are two key reasons why this material is important.

Firstly, it allows the balls to be solid and durable but extremely lightweight. This means the draw machine can easily toss the balls around and ensure the falling of the balls has been truly randomised. Then it’s down to chance to see which one gets drawn.

Secondly, we want to ensure the Channel 7 draw presenter can be clearly heard as they call the winning numbers. The foam has the advantage of being relatively quiet as the balls are tumbled during the live lottery draw.

 
How do you maintain the security and integrity of the balls?

One of the many ways The Lott maintains the integrity of each lottery draw is to check all the balls are of equal weight and size. This ensures every number has an equal chance of being drawn by the draw machines. 

Every ball is regularly weighed under government supervision at the National Measurement Institute. They provide a report confirming the weight of each ball to within one-thousandth of a gram.

The balls are also kept under constant CCTV surveillance and secured by a dual-lock system. Licensed lottery officials have one key, and government regulators have the second. Both parties must be present to access the draw equipment.

Only licensed draw officials, who cannot have an entry into the draw, can handle the balls and draw equipment. They wear gloves to further protect the balls from wear and tear. 

How do you know which balls have been drawn?

The lottery numbers are displayed 12 times over the surface of the ball so that if they are drawn, it’s easy to read the number no matter which way it lands.

But for even greater accuracy, every ball has a radio frequency identification tag (RFID) so that when a ball is drawn, the system knows very quickly which number has come up. This is then displayed for our draw presenters so they can confidently announce the winning numbers.

They might be small, but the lottery balls can make some big dreams come true. To see them in action, watch the live draw at approximately 8:30pm on Channel 7TWO, on our website results pages, or on The Lott’s YouTube channel.