How it actually works
None of these games can be bought directly from an Australian address, so The Lottery Office buys the ticket for you. For all six of these matched lotteries, they purchase a real, physical ticket in the actual overseas draw using the numbers you chose, then pay you the exact amount if it wins.
In short: you choose your numbers, The Lottery Office buys the matching ticket before the real draw closes, and if it wins they collect the prize and pay you. The next section covers what Australian law actually says about lottery betting, and exactly where to check the current position.
Is this legal for Australians?
People mean different things by "play an overseas lottery from Australia." Here are the facts and the actual regulator to check, rather than our own reading of the law, we're not lawyers, and we won't pretend to be one here.
Betting on a lottery's outcome, banned since 2019
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Lottery Betting) Act 2018 made it illegal, from 1 January 2019, to offer Australians a bet on the outcome of a lottery where no real ticket exists. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) administers this law and is the right place to check the current position: acma.gov.au.
How these six games are actually sold
Northern Territory-licensed companies like The Lottery Office buy a real overseas ticket on your behalf and pay you if it wins. The Lottery Office holds a Northern Territory Government Internet Gaming Licence (IGL1001), independently checkable on the NT Government's own licensing register. Whether a particular business model sits inside or outside the 2019 ban is a question for ACMA or a qualified lawyer to answer, not us, we're reporting what the licence is and what the service does, nothing more.
Buying a ticket in person
An Australian physically visiting Spain, the UK, Ireland or anywhere else above can buy a ticket like a local. That requires actually being there.
Where New Zealand's rules differ
New Zealand's Gambling Act 2003 is separate legislation to Australia's, and NZ has no direct equivalent of Australia's 2019 lottery-betting ban. New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs publishes its own guidance on offshore gambling directly at dia.govt.nz, including a note that protection if something goes wrong depends on the laws of wherever the operator is actually licensed. That's the primary source to check, not our summary of it.
Worth knowing before you play
- You're buying from an Australian company, licensed by the Northern Territory Government, not directly from the overseas lottery. Check the current terms and price on their site before you play.
- Currency conversion applies to any lottery not already priced in AUD, at whatever the rate is on the day.
- Tax treatment varies by country and can change; The Lottery Office's own site has the current detail for each game.
- The odds are exactly what they are for each overseas draw, no matter which legal route gets your numbers into it.
Who we are
Southern Barrel is an independent site. We're not The Lottery Office and we're not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them, or by any of the overseas lottery operators named above. We don't sell tickets, hold funds or take payments for any lottery on this page, every purchase happens entirely on The Lottery Office's own site, under their own Northern Territory licence (Global Players Network Pty Ltd, IGL1001, independently checkable on the NT Government's licensing register).
Results and jackpots here are as published by The Lottery Office, converted to AUD and rounded for display the same way their own site does it. Jackpots change with every draw, so always confirm the exact current figure on their site before you play. We don't currently earn anything from the links on this page, if that changes, we'll say so plainly right here.
Lottery play is for adults 18+. If it's stopped being fun, Gambling Help Online is free, confidential and open 24/7 on 1800 858 858.
Frequently asked questions
Which international lotteries does this page cover?
Six games sold in Australia through The Lottery Office: USA Power Lotto (matched to US Powerball), USA Mega Lotto (matched to US Mega Millions), UK Lotto, Irish Lotto, European Millions (matched to EuroMillions) and Italian Super Jackpot (matched to SuperEnalotto). Each one has its own page on this site with its results, its shape panel and its generator.
Does this page generate numbers for these lotteries?
No. The generators and shape tools on this site are built for the four Australian games, where we hold the full draw history. This page is purely results and the next jackpot for the international games, with a link through to play.
Can Australians and Kiwis actually buy these tickets?
Not directly from the overseas operators. Northern Territory-licensed companies like The Lottery Office buy a real overseas ticket on your behalf and hold an NT Government gaming licence; see "Is this legal for Australians?" above for the facts and where to check with ACMA directly.
What makes different from the other eight?
is The Lottery Office's own lottery, drawn in Darwin under Northern Territory licence, rather than a matched overseas ticket. Every number combination can only be sold once per draw, so a Division 1 win is always the full AU$1 million, never split with anyone else.
References
1. The Lottery Office, official game rules and results pages for each lottery covered here: lotteryoffice.com.au/game-rules
2. The Lottery Office, official FAQ, on the ticket-matching process and Northern Territory Internet Gaming Licence IGL1001: lotteryoffice.com.au/faqs
3. Dundas Lawyers, explainer on the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth) and lottery betting vs. genuine wagering: dundaslawyers.com.au
4. Gambling Insider, on the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Lottery Betting) Act 2018, effective 1 January 2019: gamblinginsider.com
5. New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, guidance on offshore gambling and individual legal exposure: dia.govt.nz