Set for Life is one of Australia's most unique lotteries. Instead of a lump-sum jackpot, the first division prize is $20,000 per month for 20 years — a total of $4.8 million. But is it actually good value compared to the other options?
The numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost per game | $0.68 (via $9.45 book of 14 games) |
| Jackpot odds | 1 in 38.3 million |
| First division prize | $20,000/month for 20 years ($4.8M total) |
| Draws | Every day |
What makes it competitive
Set for Life has three things going for it:
- Cheap per game. At $0.68 per game, it's one of the cheapest lotteries in Australia — tied with Weekday Windfall. Your dollar buys more entries.
- Middle-of-the-pack odds. The 1 in 38.3 million odds sit between Oz Lotto (1 in 63 million) and Saturday Gold Lotto (1 in 8.1 million). Not the hardest, not the easiest.
- Strong other-division returns. Set for Life has 8 prize divisions, and the non-jackpot divisions contribute meaningfully to the overall expected return. Our data shows it consistently ranks well on total value.
The trade-off
The obvious downside: the prize is fixed at $4.8 million total. When Powerball hits $100 million, Set for Life can't compete on jackpot excitement. But that's also its advantage — the prize doesn't depend on how many people play or whether anyone else wins. No sharing.
There's also a lifestyle consideration that sits outside the math. $20,000 per month for 20 years is life-changing in a very different way to a $50 million lump sum. Some people genuinely prefer the steady income. But that's a personal preference, not a value calculation.
The verdict
Set for Life is a solid mid-table lottery that punches above its weight on value because of its low cost and decent other-division returns. It's rarely the absolute best value on any given day — that title usually goes to whichever lottery has a bloated jackpot — but it's rarely the worst either.
Check where it sits today on the Lotto Logic leaderboard. If you're buying a ticket anyway, it's often smarter than you'd think.