A player just asked us a question that involves an age-old myth when it comes to playing the lottery: Do my odds get better if I buy several tickets in a row without winning?
The short answer is no. But here are the full details:
The odds of winning in lottery games are based solely on random chance. Nothing else.
The outcome of one particular ticket has no impact on the outcome of an upcoming play. And no one -- not even those of us who work at the lottery or the retailers that sell our tickets -- can predict when or where the next big winner will hit.
The concept that "you're due for a win" doesn't apply. And there’s only one formula that works when it comes to playing the lottery: You have to buy a ticket to have a chance to win.
In a lotto game like Powerball® or Mega Millions®, the odds of winning are based upon all the different ways you can combine the numbers available to make a play. For example, in Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million because that’s how many ways you can combine the numbers.
In scratch games, InstaPlay games and pull-tab games, the odds of winning are based upon the number of winning tickets in a game vs. the total number of tickets in that game.
If the overall odds of winning in a scratch game are about 1 in 3.41, that does not mean that if you buy 4 tickets in a row, one of them will automatically win a prize. Rather, it means that if you were to buy all of the tickets available in that game, about 1 in 4 of them would win a prize, with winning tickets randomly distributed throughout the game.
(And remember that there are thousands if not millions of tickets in our scratch, InstaPlay and pull-tab games, enough to fill up the shelves in a warehouse.)
We keep lots of Truth vs. Myth tips on our website to help you be a well-informed player. Check out our Play Smart, Be Informed details to learn more!
We're glad to have you as a player, Kevin! And thank you for the focus on positive fun. The only caveat I would give to what you have written is that we always want people to play within their means. Playing at a healthy level is what matters. We say it a lot, and it is true: It only takes one ticket to win!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | February 19, 2024 at 08:44 AM
Game odds will always remain the same if you buy 1 ticket or 50 tickets
However, Your chance of winning goes up with the more tickets you buy,
so if you want to increase your chance of winning a prize? Buy more tickets.
Its a probability issue more than a beating the odds issue.
I have a lot of "good old fun" playing lotto and if you're having fun your a winner every time you play!
Posted by: Kevin Pidima | February 16, 2024 at 08:58 PM