Founded in 1973 in Montebelluna in Northern Italy, Lotto are relative newcomers to the sportswear world. Like many of their peers they started initially producing footwear before moving into apparel several years later. In the 80s Lotto originally specialised in tennis shoes (thanks in part to sponsorship deals with the likes of Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker), followed later by footwear for basketball, volleyball and athletics.

In the early 90s the brand made a concerted effort to break into football. They signed high-profile deals with the Netherlands national side, Napoli, Juventus and Real Zaragoza as well as Wimbledon in England. Later Queens Park Rangers and Wales could also be spotted wearing Lotto outfits.

In 1999 the company was taken over by a group of local businessmen and renamed Lotto Sport Italia. The new owners vowed a refocus of the brand onto innovation, quality and Italian passion.

Today the brand is well known throughout the entire world of football kits, with many sides, including several in South America and Oceania, wearing Lotto strips.