Every year, governments spend millions of A$ trying to predict the weather. Yet the results are never completely accurate. So imagine trying to predict lottery numbers but without the benefit of scientific help. Yet thousands of people do so every day in the hope of changing their lives.
How Easy Is It to Predict Lottery Numbers?
For some optimists, a recurring dream of riches beyond compare occurs once a week. When they buy lottery tickets. They believe for a moment that it’s possible to control fate with a prediction of an unexpected win. Like a casino slot player discovering a 25 free spins sign up bonus. We understand the desire to predict lottery numbers. For many, winning the lottery represents a chance of remaking their lives financially. Below we’ve listed the biggest lottery jackpots ever won:
| Lottery | Draw Number | Date | Prize Money |
| Oz Lotto | 977 | 06/11/2012 | $111,972,151 |
| Oz Lotto | 802 | 30/06/2009 | $106,549,985 |
| Oz Lotto | 951 | 08/05/2012 | $74,856,587 |
| Powerball | 953 | 21/08/2014 | $71,809,241 |
| Powerball | 1017 | 12/11/2015 | $70,000,000 |
| Oz Lotto | 1035 | 17/12/2013 | $70,000,000 |
| Powerball | 1025 | 07/01/2016 | $70,000,000 |
| Powerball | 885 | 02/05/2013 | $62,055,383 |
| Oz Lotto | 1122 | 18/08/2015 | $60,000,000 |
| Powerball | 629 | 05/06/2008 | $58,737,207 |
A Google search will reveal that the Internet is overflowing with psychic people. Those who claim clairvoyant powers, or make winning predictions with secret algorithms. So let’s take a look at the ways you can choose the winning lottery combination with certainty.
The Law of Large Numbers
Before you get too excited, the short answer to the question of predicting the lottery outcome is “no.” There’s no crystal ball that can predict winning lottery numbers. Having said that, in 2004, a Brazilian mathematician, Renato Gianella found the opposite. That it’s possible to predict the numbers which are more likely to appear. His theory was based on the Law of Large Numbers. To some degree he was correct, with a large enough sample, the prediction of patterns is possible. But his theory had no practical uses as it couldn’t pinpoint the exact numbers needed to win.
Understanding the Gambler’s Fallacy
The selection of lottery numbers available is finite. This means there are only so many combinations possible. Based on this fact, you can find many winning lottery predictions for sale on the Internet which claim they apply formulas based on this fixed number of possible permutations. The vendors will swear that by taking into account previous results, they can predict future ones.
As many casino gamblers are aware, this is the “Gambler’s Fallacy.” The idea is that past results can lead to the prediction of future ones. Many are for sale over the Internet and promise to predict better results than those found by simply guessing. Yet if the software is so good, why don’t the sellers utilise it to win the lottery for themselves, instead of selling it to the public?
Every Number Has the Same Odds
Given the mathematical nature of the lottery, you can find any number of computer programs that claim to have a special algorithm to calculate the winning numbers for Lotto games. Once again, this technique utilises previous winning numbers, as well as its own proprietary system for making predictions. The problem here is that each lottery number has exactly the same chance of being drawn.
Many lottery ticket buyers get excited when they see that some numbers have appeared less often than others. In other words, these numbers are somehow “overdue.” The prediction being they have a higher chance of appearing. However, each number drawn is independent of any that appeared earlier.
These same people also fail to recognise that the statistics they are viewing are too small of a sample to be of any significance to make a prediction. Unfortunately, a proper understanding of mathematics, coupled with a blind desire to win, only serves to help scammers market their false promises.
Ways to Improve Your Lottery-Winning Numbers
Now that we’ve put to bed the idea that anyone can predict lottery numbers and win, let’s have a look at some practical considerations that will have a more positive effect on your predictions.
Buy More Lottery Tickets
You don’t need a big brain to realise that the more lottery tickets you have, the greater your winning chances. For a better possibility, ensure that all the tickets have combinations of different numbers. To win with this method is going to require deep pockets. So be sure to ask about bulk buying discounts.
Form a Lottery Syndicate
This is another form of the above method, though it’s going to be significantly cheaper. Obviously, with more people buying tickets, there’s an increase in a winning prediction in your favour. The downside is that the prize will need to be divided up between members.
Find Obscure or Unpopular Lottery Games
An Internet search will uncover a huge number of lottery games taking part every day in some far-flung part of the world. Providing the lottery is open to you (we suggest you check its terms and conditions before making any ticket purchases) then rarer lotteries may be easier to win.
The Odds of Winning the Australian Lottery
Because winning the lottery is just an unattainable fantasy for the vast majority of players, the way numbers are chosen is of no consequence. Whether you use your birthday or any random numbers, it doesn’t matter as the odds to win most major lotteries are too long to comprehend. Below we’ve listed the odds for all the major lotteries in Australia:
| Australian Lottery | Odds of Winning |
| Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Lottery | 8,145,060 |
| Oz Lottery | 45,379,620 |
| Powerball Australia | 76,676,600 |
Technically there is only one way to boost your lottery winning numbers. According to Harvard professor of statistics, Dr Mark Glickman, your only option is to buy more tickets. He points out that many buyers fail to understand that the odds remain the same no matter what random numbers are chosen.
Can AI Help You Predict Winning Lottery Numbers?
With the advent of functional AI entering the public domain, there have been many predictions that the days of playing the lottery numbers blindly will soon be behind us. But AI is nothing more than a complex algorithm. In order for it to find anything, it first needs to recognise a preexisting pattern. This might function with facial recognition or accumulating a list of the best crypto casinos. Yet without a track record of correct predictions, it’s as blind to the future as we are.
Because most people live lives surrounded by order, it’s easy to forget that the nature of the universe is random. This leads to the false dichotomy whereby the law of averages is misunderstood. Remember that the universe doesn’t recall numbers.
Bottom Line
If you think about it, the correct prediction of lottery numbers would bring the lottery to a close. Apart from the winner, lottery games and the whole experience of playing would become redundant. After all, one of the main reasons lotteries are so popular the world over is that they are a journey into the unknown. In the same manner that luck has a huge influence on everyone’s daily lives, the excitement and allure of the lottery are that the results all depend on the whims of Lady Luck.