Set for Life

What Makes Set for Life Different?

Most lotteries hand you a lump sum and send you on your way. Set for Life takes the opposite approach. The top prize is $20,000 per month for 20 years — that's $4.8 million paid out over time rather than all at once. It's designed for people who like the idea of long-term financial security rather than a single windfall.

The game draws daily, which gives players more frequent chances to win. And the number selection format is unique among Australian lotteries: you pick from two separate pools.

Whether that monthly payment structure appeals to you more than a lump sum is a personal call. Some reckon it's the smarter format because it prevents the kind of rapid overspending that occasionally follows big jackpot wins. Others prefer having the full amount upfront. There's no wrong answer.

How to Play

Each Set for Life game involves two selections:

• 8 numbers from a pool of 1 to 37 (main numbers)
• 2 Life Numbers from a separate pool of 1 to 8

During the draw, 8 main numbers and 2 Life Numbers are selected. To win the top prize, all 10 of your numbers need to match — 8 main plus 2 Life Numbers.

Standard entries let you choose your numbers manually or use Quick Pick for a random selection. System entries are available too, though they get expensive fairly quickly given the number of combinations involved.

Draw Schedule

Set for Life is drawn every day at 8:30pm AEST, seven days a week. That's 365 draws a year (366 in a leap year). No other Australian lottery comes close to that frequency.

Entries close at around 7:25pm AEST daily. Results are published shortly after the draw.

Sample Recent Results

Illustrative results. Always check with your official retailer.

Prize Divisions and Odds

Set for Life has 8 prize divisions. The top prize is the monthly payment; lower divisions are paid as one-off amounts.

Division	Match Required	Prize	Odds (approx.)
1	8 main + 2 Life Numbers	$20,000/month for 20 years	1 in 38,608,020
2	7 main + 2 Life Numbers	$5,000/month for 1 year	1 in 1,662,804
3	6 main + 2 Life Numbers	~$2,000	1 in 107,084
4	8 main numbers (no Life Numbers)	~$500	1 in 1,286,934
5	5 main + 2 Life Numbers	~$100	1 in 9,380
6	7 main + 1 Life Number	~$80	1 in 138,567
7	5 main + 1 Life Number	~$25	1 in 1,564
8	4 main + 2 Life Numbers	~$15	1 in 1,128

Divisions 3 through 8 pay fixed or pool-based amounts that vary slightly from draw to draw. The monthly payment prizes in Divisions 1 and 2 are fixed and guaranteed.

The Monthly Payment Structure

Division 1 pays exactly $20,000 per month, tax-free, for 20 years. That amounts to $4.8 million over the full term. The payments are guaranteed by the lottery operator — they don't depend on investment returns or market conditions.

Division 2 is also paid monthly: $5,000 per month for 12 months ($60,000 total).

One thing to consider: the payments aren't adjusted for inflation. Twenty thousand dollars today buys more than it will in 15 years. On the other hand, you can't blow through the whole amount in six months, which has been known to happen with lump-sum winners.

Tips and Observations

• Daily draws mean daily opportunities — but also daily spending if you're not careful. Set a weekly budget even for Set for Life.
• The dual-pool format (main + Life Numbers) makes the game structurally more complex than 6/45 games. There are more ways to partially match.
• Some players buy entries for specific days of the week rather than every day. Nothing wrong with that approach.
• The monthly prize structure is particularly appealing to people who worry about managing a large lump sum.
• Quick Pick remains a perfectly valid selection method. The numbers are random either way.

Where to Buy

Available at the same outlets as other national lottery games — newsagencies, lottery kiosks, and online through The Lott. Prices vary by state but a standard 4-game entry runs around $6.40.