Find Out All About the Best Lotto Odds!
Winning the lottery is a dream we all share. To increase your chances of turning this dream into reality, you should play smart, not hard. A bit of research into the lotteries with the best winning odds goes a long way to separate the dreamers from the winners.
Our guide to the lotteries which have the most favorable odds is a good resource for you to understand what lotteries you should play. Learn about the chances of winning in the biggest international lotteries, and then make an informed decision according to your expectations.
Which Lottery Has the Best Odds?
The best lottery odds refer to your chances of winning any of the prizes each lottery game offers. Note that there is a major difference between odds in general and the jackpot odds which only refer to the main prize. For example, if you play a major lottery like the US Powerball you have a 1: 29,22,01,338 chance of winning the jackpot. If you choose a smaller lottery like the Australian Lotto Series, you stand a much better chance of 1: 81,45,060. This makes the Australian Lotto series the lottery with the best overall odds of winning.
Below you can see an overview of your odds of winning the Powerball, as opposed to the odds for the Australian Lotto series which includes Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday Lotto.
|
Jackpot
|
5+PB*/6
|
1:29,22,01,338
|
1: 81,45,060
|
|
2nd Prize
|
5/5 + Bonus**
|
1: 1,16,88,053
|
1: 6,78,755
|
|
3rd Prize
|
4+PB/5
|
1: 9,13,129
|
1: 36,689
|
|
4th Prize
|
4
|
1: 36,525
|
1: 733
|
|
5th Prize
|
3+PB/3+1 or 2 Bonus
|
1:14,494
|
1: 297
|
|
6th Prize
|
3/1+1 or 2 Bonus
|
1: 579
|
1: 144
|
|
7th Prize
|
2+PB/NA
|
1: 701
|
-
|
|
8th Prize
|
1+PB/NA
|
1: 92
|
-
|
|
9th Prize
|
0+PB/CN
|
1: 38
|
-
|
*PB – Additional Powerball number
**Bonus – Additional Australian Lotto number
So, how to win the lottery in India? First of all, the odds of winning a lottery prize are calculated based on complex formulas also known as “lottery mathematics”. To determine your chance of guessing all or some of the winning numbers, specialists take into account how many numbers there are in total, how many of them are picked in each draw, and if there is an additional number in play. The main thing you should remember is that you want your chance to be as high as possible, which means 1: 16 is much better than 1: 120.
Which Lottery Offers the Best Jackpot Odds?
Most people are basing their decision to play a certain lottery on the size of the jackpot. However, you should know that the amazingly high jackpot has a negative impact on your lotto odds of winning. The lotteries that boast the biggest jackpots have also the lowest chance of you actually scooping that prize. As a rule of thumb, smaller lotteries have much better odds than major players such as the US Powerball or Mega Millions.
The Powerball is the number one lottery in the world with a record jackpot of US$204 Crore. Since 2015, players have a chance in 29.2 Crore of winning the jackpot. Their direct competitor, Mega Millions offers you a chance in 30.26 Crore. To get an idea of the difference of odds between the most popular lotteries and the less famous one, we will look at some European lotteries.
Please note that even though European lotteries don’t have the same jackpots, they still offer decent prizes. The EuroMillions offers 1 chance in 13.98 Crore of winning the minimum €170 Lakh jackpot. Another pan-European lottery, EuroJackpot offers even better odds of 1 in 9.5 Crore, with a jackpot of €1 Crore.
The best odds for winning the jackpot come from a Spanish lottery, La Primitiva. This famous lottery has amazing odds of 1 in only 139 Lakh. Although it sounds like a big number, it is much more favourable than the odds of winning MegaMillions (1 in 30.26 Crore)! Find out more about this American giant in our Mega Millions guide.
Why Look at Both General & Jackpot Odds?
Now that you know how both general odds and jackpot odds are calculated, let’s compare them to discover the best lottery games to play. Each lottery offers one main prize (jackpot) and other secondary prize divisions. You can win these smaller prizes if you guess only some of the numbers, depending on the rules of each lottery.
When speaking of general lottery odds, we mean the overall chance of winning any prize, including smaller sums. Jackpot odds refer exclusively to the chance of guessing all the main and additional numbers (if available) and winning the first prize.
So, why look at bother the general odds and the jackpot odds?! Simply because you want to increase your chances of winning a prize. It may not be the huge jackpot you dreamt of, but it is still nice to win a prize!
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SuperEnalotto
|
1: 62,26,14,630
|
1: 20
|
|
Mega Millions
|
1: 30,25,75,350
|
1: 24
|
|
US Powerball
|
1: 29,22,01,338
|
1: 38
|
|
EuroMillions
|
1: 13,98,38,160
|
1: 13
|
|
EuroJackpot
|
1: 9,53,44,200
|
1: 42
|
|
Swiss Lotto
|
1: 3,14,74,716
|
1: 44
|
When you look at these numbers, the first instinct will be to avoid SuperEnalotto, as it offers the least favourable odds of winning. However, when deciding on what lottery you want to play, you should consider more than these statistics. Although SuperEnalotto is the lowest on the probability scales, in August 2019, 90 lucky players won a record €37.1 Crore jackpot. This proves that odds are not the only thing to consider when making this decision! Check out our guide to playing the Italian lottery for more information about SuperEnalotto.
Which Lottery Should You Play?
The lotteries with the highest chances of winning are the Spanish Lotteries. Apart from La Primitiva, there are two other special raffles that offer incredible odds. The Loteria Nacional Extra and Loteria de Navidad are unmissable, as they offer 1 in 1,00,000 chances of winning the jackpot. Note that these special raffles happen less frequent than regular ones, so don’t miss your chance of playing.
The Extra Raffle of the Loteria Nacional, raffle usually takes place every month on special occasions, and the Christmas raffle (Loteria de Navidad), only happens once of year, just before the holidays. Still, they are considered the easiest lotteries to win, as they have produced the most winners worldwide.
Lotteries with the Best Odds Overall
After looking into the best lottery odds in the world to help you make a decision, it is important to know this is not the only factor to consider. Surely it is tempting to play the US Powerball or the Mega Millions when they boast US$100 Crore jackpots, and no one wants to miss that opportunity. However, keep in mind that each lottery offers certain advantages like the purchase price, the jackpot reached, the probabilities offered. Only you can decide which lottery suits you best!
Get informed about the advantages of each major lottery, look into the less popular ones to find the right lotteries for your needs, and then start playing. The only major rule you should follow is play because that’s the only way to have a chance of winning a life-changing prize. Play online with LottoSmile to turn your dreams into reality! Good luck in the next draw!