Buy Romania Joker Tickets Online

Romania Joker has been a lottery favourite in Romania for decades.

Also called Lotto Joker Romania, it has an easy format to follow and plenty of prizes up for grabs.

In this review, we’ll explain how to play the game and where to buy Romania Joker tickets online.

About Romania Joker

Romania Joker was launched in January 2001 and is operated by CN Loteria Romana SA, or CNLR SA.

CNLR SA is the government-run department responsible for lottery. It has been in operation since 1906.

The game has had the same format since it launched, just one testament to the game’s popularity.

All players must be at least 18 years of age to buy tickets.

Romania Joker Draws

Romania Joker is a bi-weekly draw. It holds draws every Thursday and Sunday at 6:15 pm EEST at the CNLR SA headquarters in Bucharest.

During the draws, a total of six numbers are randomly selected from two different ball pools. A mechanical ball machine is used.

How to Play Romania Joker

Romania Joker is a 5/45 + 1/20 format game. This means that players must choose five numbers from a pool of 1 though 45. They must also choose one number, the Joker number, from 1 through 20.

To win the jackpot, a player must match all five regular numbers and the Joker number.

The Joker number is also required for the third, fifth, seventh and eighth prize tiers.

Players can either select their own numbers manually or choose the Quick Pick option.

If players are feeling lucky, they can also play the add-on game Noroc Plus.

Romania Joker is currently offered only in Romania by CNLR SA. However, some popular online lottery websites do offer the game to international players.

One of the best features of Romania Joker is the cheap cost. A standard ticket costs only RON 4.

International players who purchase tickets from third-party websites may have to pay additional fees.

Romania Joker Prizes and Odds

There are a total of eight prize tiers that players can win.

As mentioned, a player must match all five regular numbers and the bonus Joker number. To win any prize, a player must match at least one number and the Joker number.

The jackpot starts at a minimum of RON 200,000. Though this might not sound like much, for context, the average annual salary in Romania is RON 107,760.

Additionally, the jackpot rolls over any time there is no winner. There are no rollover or jackpot caps, so it continues to grow until it is won.

The jackpot odds are pretty decent, at 1 in 22,435,180. These are much better than those of a mega lottery like US Powerball, which are 1 in 292,201,338.

However, there are some international lotteries with similar odds that do have considerably better jackpots.

For instance, South Africa Lotto has jackpot odds of 1 in 20,358,520 and a minimum jackpot of ZAR 2 million. That’s a minimum jackpot of more than double Romania Joker’s, and the game also has no jackpot cap.

However, Romania Joker tickets are a small fraction of the price of a South Africa Lotto ticket.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 12.5.

The full prize and odds breakdown is as follows:

Claiming Romania Joker Prizes

Lucky winners have only 90 days from the draw date to claim their winnings.

Prizes are paid out as a lump-sum, and prizes of over RON 3,001 can be claimed at a regional lottery office.

Prizes below RON 3,000 can be claimed at any official lottery retailer. The jackpot prize has to be claimed in person at CNLR SA’s headquarters.

Unfortunately, Romania Joker prizes are taxed in three different bands.

Prizes of up to RON 66,750 are taxed at a rate of 1%. Prizes between RON 66,750 and RON 445,000 are taxed at a flat tax of RON 667.50. Anything over RON 66,750 is also subject to 16%.

Prizes over RON 445,000 are subject to a flat rate of RON 61,187.50. Additionally, anything over RON 445,000 is subject to a 25% tax.

Winners who buy tickets online from third-party sites may have to pay additional taxes in accordance with their home country.

Notable Romania Joker Winners

As Romania Joker has no jackpot or rollover cap prizes can get pretty big.

The biggest jackpot in the game’s history was won in August 2018. The lucky winner took home a jackpot of RON 20,573,472.

Romania Joker-Should You Play?

Romania Joker might be a smaller game, but it packs a big punch.

Though jackpots start small, the lack of caps mean there’s limitless potential.

Add to that the decent odds and reasonable ticket price, and this is a fairly decent lottery overall.