Toto snowball, cascade and special draws explained
Big Toto jackpots make headlines, but the rules behind them are simple: a minimum jackpot, a snowball when nobody wins, and a cascade when the snowball runs out. On top of the regular Monday and Thursday draws, Singapore Pools also holds special draws around festive dates.
The minimum jackpot
Group 1 takes 38% of each draw's prize pool, with a guaranteed minimum of $1 million. Every regular draw therefore starts with a jackpot of at least $1 million, even when sales are low.
Snowball: when nobody wins Group 1
If no ticket matches all six numbers, the Group 1 prize is not paid out. It snowballs: it is carried forward and added to the next draw's Group 1 prize. Each snowballed draw adds a new 38% share on top, which is why jackpots grow quickly after a few draws without a winner.
Cascade: when the snowball runs out
A jackpot cannot snowball forever. Group 1 can snowball for up to four draws. That fourth draw is the cascade draw: if Group 1 is still not won, the whole jackpot cascades down and is shared among the Group 2 winners (five numbers plus the additional number).
A real example — July 2025
News reports described a jackpot that grew from about $1.2 million to $5.8 million and then to about $12.7 million for the 17 July 2025 draw. Nobody matched all six numbers, so the prize cascaded to Group 2: twelve winning tickets each took home about $1.2 million — far above a normal Group 2 payout. Two weeks later, a fresh snowball reached about $12.8 million and was won by a single QuickPick ticket on 31 July 2025.
Cascade draws matter for players because Group 2 becomes exceptionally valuable in that one draw. The odds of winning Group 2 do not change (they stay at 1 in 2,330,636); only the prize does.
Later draw time for big jackpots
Regular draws are held at 6:30 PM. When the jackpot has snowballed to a very large amount, Singapore Pools has moved the draw to 9:30 PM, with ticket sales closing later to match. TotoLab's countdown always shows the regular 6:30 PM time, so check Singapore Pools for the exact time of any big-jackpot draw.
Special draws on festive dates
Not every draw falls on a Monday or Thursday. Of the 685 draws in TotoLab's database since January 2020, 26 were held on a Friday, and they cluster around three times of year: the New Year, the Chinese New Year period (including the annual Hong Bao draw) and Singapore's National Day in early August. Special draws usually carry a much larger guaranteed jackpot than a regular draw.
| Date | Draw | Season | Winning numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 7 Aug 2026 | #4206 | National Day period | 5730333646+44 |
| Fri, 27 Feb 2026 | #4160 | Chinese New Year period | 5920234546+7 |
| Fri, 13 Feb 2026 | #4156 | Chinese New Year period | 101525434549+4 |
| Fri, 2 Jan 2026 | #4144 | New Year | 111820323839+34 |
| Fri, 8 Aug 2025 | #4102 | National Day period | 21528394244+5 |
| Fri, 7 Feb 2025 | #4050 | Chinese New Year period | 161822232835+32 |
| Fri, 24 Jan 2025 | #4046 | Chinese New Year period | 91018354349+42 |
| Fri, 3 Jan 2025 | #4040 | New Year | 91124293946+31 |
| Fri, 2 Aug 2024 | #3996 | National Day period | 141622233642+21 |
| Fri, 23 Feb 2024 | #3950 | Chinese New Year period | 182126353843+40 |
| Fri, 2 Feb 2024 | #3944 | Chinese New Year period | 22729364448+12 |
| Fri, 5 Jan 2024 | #3936 | New Year | 71217203135+22 |
| Fri, 4 Aug 2023 | #3892 | National Day period | 192527282948+34 |
| Fri, 3 Feb 2023 | #3840 | Chinese New Year period | 4621253440+48 |
| Fri, 20 Jan 2023 | #3836 | Chinese New Year period | 152935474849+10 |
| Fri, 6 Jan 2023 | #3832 | New Year | 122230324249+8 |
| Fri, 5 Aug 2022 | #3788 | National Day period | 141824374345+8 |
| Fri, 11 Feb 2022 | #3738 | Chinese New Year period | 91314161828+10 |
| Fri, 21 Jan 2022 | #3732 | Chinese New Year period | 2411132838+49 |
| Fri, 7 Jan 2022 | #3728 | New Year | 3811204449+32 |
| Fri, 26 Feb 2021 | #3638 | Chinese New Year period | 212440424448+1 |
| Fri, 5 Feb 2021 | #3632 | Chinese New Year period | 8911242647+34 |
| Fri, 1 Jan 2021 | #3622 | New Year | 5813163547+2 |
| Fri, 7 Feb 2020 | #3551 | Chinese New Year period | 101516212449+2 |
| Fri, 17 Jan 2020 | #3545 | Chinese New Year period | 11124284548+23 |
| Fri, 3 Jan 2020 | #3541 | New Year | 131521233035+25 |
Seasons are inferred from the draw date. Draw numbers and results are from TotoLab's database; confirm any result with Singapore Pools.
Does a bigger jackpot change the odds?
No. A snowballed or special draw has exactly the same odds as any other draw: 1 in 13,983,816 for Group 1. What changes is the prize — and, because more tickets are sold, the chance that a jackpot is shared between several winners.
See the odds and prize groups guide for the full table, or browse past results.