Chances of Winning
Number Selection Games
The chances of winning a lottery jackpot are based on several factors depending on the type of game being played. On number traditional number selection type games these factors include: the count of possible numbers, the total count of winning numbers drawn, whether or not the order of the numbers is relevant and whether the numbers drawn can be re-used for further drawing.
Odds of winning
Take a 6/49 lotto for example. Six numbers are drawn from 1 to 49 and if the 6 numbers selected on a ticket matches the randomly selected numbers drawn, then the ticket holder is a jackpot winner. This is true no mater the order the numbers were drawn. The odds of winning this type of jackpot is approximately 1 in 14 million or 13,983,816 to be exact. To put this number into context, if one buys one lottery ticket per week for 269,000 years, one would expect to win only once. The SuperEnalotto of Italy is one of the most difficult to win. To win the jackpot six numbers out of 90 must be correctly chosen. The odds of doing this is 1 in 622,614,630.
Additional Jackpot Prizes
Most lotteries give out lesser prizes for matching some but not all of the winning numbers. Mega Millions, an interstate lottery giving out payouts as small as $2 if only a single number is matched on the ticket. These prizes do not affect the chances of winning the larger jackpot, however the chances of winning SOMETHING is increased and will make the purchase of tickets seem more attractive. However, in most lotteries, if a situation arises where a large amount of smaller prizes has been awarded, the jackpot payout will be lowered in a similar way that if multiple players purchased a single ticket the winnings are divided up.
Beating the System
Polish businessman named Stefan Klincewicz once bought up almost all of the 1,947,792 combinations of numbers available on the Irish national lottery service. Due to the large number of tickets purchased he paid less then one million Irish pounds. The jackpot for the lottery stood at 1.7 million. Out of all the purchased tickets there were three winners. Overall Klincewicz made a small overall profit.