Lotto Berlin

Lotto Berlin is the state lottery company in Berlin, a member of the German Lotto and Totoblock, and is officially called “Die Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin (DKLB)”. It is one of a total of 16 lottery companies in Germany, each responsible for its own federal state. Around 170 employees work for Lotto Berlin at the headquarters on Brandenburgische Straße 36. About 3 million plays are submitted each month via Berlin’s lotto shops and the online system. Lotto Berlin’s portfolio includes the well‑known standard product Lotto 6aus49 with the add‑on lotteries Spiel 77 and Super 6, the annuity lottery Glücksspirale, the sports bets ODDSET and TOTO, the numbers lottery KENO with the add‑on lottery plus5, as well as various scratch tickets.

How high are Lotto Berlin’s processing fees?

Please note that you must always submit your entries directly to your state lottery company (i.e., Lotto Berlin if your primary or permanent residence is in the state of Berlin). Playing online is usually cheaper — we recommend submitting your entries online, because:

Why pay more for the same service?

See for yourself — below we link to our detailed comparisons that include all online providers: the Lotto 6aus49 price comparison — lotto price comparison, for the European lottery Eurojackpot — Eurojackpot price comparison, for the daily lottery KENO — the corresponding Keno price comparison, and for the popular annuity lottery — the Glücksspirale price comparison, which are updated regularly. Please note that all information is without guarantee of completeness and accuracy; in case of doubt, please verify independently.

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Cut-off times at retail outlets

The Lotto 6aus49 draws of the German Lotto and Totoblock take place on Wednesday at 18:25 and on Saturday at 19:25. Typically, this results in retail cut‑off times on Wednesdays around 17:30–18:00 and on Saturdays around 18:30–19:00. These times vary between federal states because the state lottery administrations set the cut‑off times largely independently. For the online sales point of Lotto Berlin, the following cut‑off times apply — for Wednesday Lotto: 18:00 and for Saturday Lotto: 19:00.

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Prize collection and payout in Berlin

Until recently, lottery players in Berlin had to assert their prize claims within 13 weeks of the draw date (or from the date of last participation for multi‑week tickets) by presenting a valid receipt; otherwise, the prize expired. This very short limitation period had been uniform for all German state lottery companies. Changes in legislation led to the most recent change in the terms on 23.11.2015, effective from the draw on Wednesday, 06.01.2016. Now §26 states: “Statutory limitation rules apply to the assertion and limitation of claims.” As a rule, players now have up to 3 years (possibly until the end of the respective calendar year) to assert their claims — a significant improvement over the previous 13‑week period. In Berlin retail outlets, only prizes up to €500 are paid out. For higher amounts (practical tip — even for a few hundred euros, a small neighborhood shop may not have enough cash on hand; it’s advisable to ask in advance), a written prize claim must be submitted (available at every lottery outlet). Alternatively, you can visit the state lottery company (Berliner LOTTO headquarters) in person:

Payout can be made by cheque or standard bank transfer. It’s therefore much more convenient to submit your ticket online. Your receipt cannot be lost and the prize is automatically transferred to your bank account. In addition, as seen in the comparison tables, you can benefit from lower processing fees!

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Lotto Berlin customer cards

Lotto Berlin now offers two variants of its LOTTO customer cards: the Player Card and the LOTTO Card. Both cards are free of charge and available at any LOTTO shop in Berlin. These cards are particularly useful for ODDSET, TOTO and KENO, where personal identification has been required in all Berlin outlets since 2008 for reasons of problem‑gambling prevention and youth protection. The Player Card primarily serves player identification; the LOTTO Card, which can also be extended with a personal photo, additionally offers services such as storing up to 15 plays, individual prize notifications, and the “everything‑is‑transferred” guarantee, with which your prize is transferred directly to the bank account linked to the customer card (less a €0.75 transfer fee) if you have not collected it within ten weeks at a LOTTO shop in Berlin.

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Glücksspirale annual ticket

Lotto Berlin has long offered the annuity lottery Glücksspirale as an “annual ticket”. Compared to standard play, two key differences apply here: 1) the longer term of 52 weeks, and 2) a cheaper variant — a so‑called “one‑fifth ticket” or annual ticket “Silver” (reduced stake of €1 instead of the regular €5, with a maximum monthly annuity of €2,000; plus processing fee). The online processing fee for an annual ticket is uniformly €3.00 (regardless of whether it’s a full ticket or a one‑fifth ticket). It is also worth noting that Glücksspirale offers better odds compared to the add‑on lotteries Spiel77 and Super6.
Below are answers to common questions about the annual ticket:
Can I play the add‑on lotteries Spiel77 and/or Super6 as an annual ticket?
Unfortunately not in Berlin. This can vary between state lottery companies.
Can I play the cheaper one‑fifth Glücksspirale ticket with a shorter term?
Unfortunately no — the one‑fifth ticket is only available as an annual ticket (52‑week term).
Why is there “twice the chance of the top prize” each week?
Glücksspirale results are announced on Saturdays shortly before the Tagesschau at around 19:57 on ARD. There is only one draw per week. However, since two 7‑digit winning numbers are drawn in the top prize class (the monthly annuity), you effectively have two chances.
Is the Glücksspirale annual ticket only available in Berlin?
No, many other state lottery companies also offer Glücksspirale as annual tickets. Please use the top menu to navigate to the lottery company of your federal state of residence for more details.

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State of Berlin – lottery history

The city of Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany and at the same time one of its federal states — the State of Berlin. With about 3,613,500 inhabitants (as of 2017, source: Federal Statistical Office, destatis.de), Berlin is Germany’s largest city. The area of the city, which corresponds to the area of the state, is about 891.12 km².

For the first time, lotto in Germany was drawn on 11 January 1953 in Berlin — back then as the numbers lottery 5 out of 90. Lotto Berlin has therefore been one of the founding states of the German LOTTO Block, established in June 1955 by the following five federal states: Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, North Rhine‑Westphalia and Schleswig‑Holstein. Since the agreement of a Lotto Block contract, each state can now conduct the numbers lottery independently. The draw of the winning numbers took place every Saturday and was hosted in rotation by the LOTTO Block partners, each for five weeks. Hamburg made the start on 9 October 1955: at 16:00 the lotto balls were drawn for the first time in a large drum, then still made of wood and glass. The orphan girl Elvira became the very first “lotto fairy” — and the first number drawn was the “13”! Evaluating the played tickets used to be hard work: in 1955 hundreds of evaluators worked through the night under strict supervision, checking all tickets with a stencil. Today, modern data centers complete this task within just a few minutes. As a rule of thumb for publishing prize payouts: on the next working day — usually Monday for Saturday Lotto and Thursday for Wednesday Lotto — typically between 9:00 and 12:00 (the higher the jackpot, the later the payouts are published).

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