Everyone fantasises about winning the lottery, but unfortunately the odds are massively stacked against you. There’s no skill involved, no cheat sheet to follow, just plain old pot luck. However, whether you’re playing the national lottery or betting on the outcome of a draw with lotto betting, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of winning the jackpot.
Join a syndicate or lottery pool
Simple maths says buying more lottery tickets increases your chances of having a winning ticket. However, this costs more money, which you may not be willing to part with. Joining a lottery syndicate essentially means having a pool of people buying lottery tickets with the shared agreement that you will split any winnings between you. Lottery pools boost your chances without costing you more than you would have invested when playing the lottery alone.
There have been many success stories from lottery players winning the jackpot after being part of a syndicate group, with a group of seven charity workers splitting a massive £1 million between them. It has been estimated that one in five top prizes of the UK lottery games are won by syndicates and lottery groups, so there’s no harm in joining or starting a group to increase the odds of winning.
Be part of multiple lottery draws
Statistically, the more times you enter a lottery draw, the better chance you have of winning. Therefore, betting on more than one lottery draw can increase the chance that you will walk away with a prize. In the UK you can play multiple lines on each Lotto slip (up to 7 lines), and can play the Lotto Lucky Dip for another chance to win. For every line of Lotto numbers you play, you are automatically entered into a randomly-generated Millionaire Raffle, where you can win a £1 million prize, or one of 20 guaranteed prizes of £20,000. This raffle takes place on each draw day, when 21 raffle numbers are selected.
Betting on the outcome of the game online with lotto betting makes the process much easier, and gives you another chance at the jackpot without needing to buy a lottery ticket every week. Playing online also ensures you don’t need to worry about looking after a lottery ticket and also allows you to play international lotteries like the Irish Lotto and EuroJackpot.
Play with original numbers
According to studies, 20 is the least drawn number in the lottery history, and around 10,000 people play the numbers ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6’ every week. Using those statistics, if the sequence ever won a £10 million prize, each player would only receive £1,000 as part of their prize, which isn’t ideal. While it’s impossible to know what numbers will be drawn in any game, having an original sequence can help to improve the odds that you get a bigger payout if your numbers are drawn.
Many people choose a ticket based on notable birthdays, however this only gives you numbers between 1 and 31, meaning there is a higher chance you will have to share your jackpot with numerous other winners. Try and be more creative with your chosen numbers, in order to get a more unique sequence.
While you can’t guarantee winning the lottery, you can increase your chances of hitting that jackpot with these simple tricks. Lottery groups and syndicates statistically have a higher chance of winning the lottery, thanks to the higher number of entries per person. Entering multiple prize draws obviously gives you more opportunities to win and unique lottery numbers will mean you get more money when you do.