Lottery Draws and Strategies

[How the numbers are drawn | Strategies]

How Are Lottery Numbers Drawn?

The following are the draw procedures for the Canada-wide lotteries, Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7:

A Ryo-Catteau draw machine is used to draw the winning numbers.
The Ryo-Catteau is a standard and traditional ball machine manufactured by Ryo-Catteau of Wattrelos, France. The balls are bounced around inside the Plexiglas sphere.
The draws are conducted by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC) in Toronto.
The balls are made of solid India rubber, manufactured to exact tolerances.
The numbers on the balls are ingrained in the rubber so that the weight of each ball is the same.
All the balls are regularly tested for weight, resilience, sphericity, volume and density.
Representatives from an independent auditing firm audit are supposed to audit every aspect of the draw to ensure its integrity.
You can purchase a ticket at authorized retailers until 9 PM Eastern time on draw night.
Before every draw, each of the five regional lottery corporations notifies the ILC in Toronto once it has closed off the participating wagers in its territory.
The draw is usually held around 10 PM ET. There have been instances during large jackpots when the draw was delayed.
All balls are placed in numerical order in the ball rack of the draw machine. The balls are released into a drum which is spun for at least 10 seconds before a button is pressed to release the first ball.
The ball drops into the trap at the bottom of the drum and an electric eye prompts its release into a chute. The appropriate number of balls, including the bonus, are released into the chute one by one.
The same balls are used in every draw and undergo testing and cleaning to ensure that each meets strict requirements. If a ball is damaged, then the entire set of balls is replaced.
Between draws, the balls are locked away in a sealed container.
Each draw is videotaped, witnessed and officially recorded by independent adjudicators.
Once the draw has taken place, the ILC notifies each of the lottery corporations of the winning draw numbers. These corporations then run the results through their computer systems to determine the number of winners in their territory. Afterwards, the corporations send this information to the ILC so it can establish the countrywide prize division.

Imperfections:

Unlike other lotteries (like in BC), the public cannot attend the draw.
The draw is not broadcast live. You never see the balls actually dropping.
Sales already re-open at 9:15 PM ET for the next draw, despite the current draw not being held yet.
Unlike other lotteries and sweepstakes, employees, retailers and other affiliated parties of the lottery corporations are allowed to win.
It is NOT recommended that you check your tickets solely by giving it to a retailer as they are allowed to claim YOUR winning ticket.
In Ontario and Western Canada, you are forced to accept at least two Quick Picks for a Lotto Super 7 ticket, instead of having the freedom to choose all three selections yourself.

Other Facts

The largest Lotto 6/49 Jackpot was $26,410,706 offered in September 1995.
The largest unclaimed 6/49 jackpot was a 1989 ticket worth $4.6 million.
Over 65 per cent of Lotto 6/49 tickets are purchased in Ontario and Quebec. The Prairies and Territories account for 14 to 15 per cent of the sales on Lotto 6/49 and Super 7, including 3% in Manitoba.
Roughly 70% of lottery tickets sold use computer-generated numbers or "Quick Picks." This is higher for Lotto Super 7. The percentage of jackpot winners that used a Quick Pick corresponds to the percentage of Quick Pick buyers.
Canadian lotteries' fiscal 2003 sales increases 4% to $7.9 billion. The five Canadian lotteries' sales increased between 1% and 9% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2003. The Western Canada Lottery Corp. led the Canadian industry with a 9% increase in fiscal 2003 sales. Source: La Fleur's Magazine.
Lotto Super 7 sales rose 62% to $1.1 billion. If the big jackpots continue for fisca 2004, Super 7 sales could exceed the leader Lotto 6/49 for the first time. Despite heavy marketing with its 20th anniversary, 6/49 experienced a 10% decline in sales.
Sales for provincial lotteries, such as spinoff mini-649 games, also fell 7% in fiscal 2003. Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) net machine income increased 3% to $1.5 billion, making it the second most popular lottery game after instant tickets.
Statistics Canada reports that Canadians spent $10.7 billion on government-run lotteries, casinos, and video lottery terminals (VLTs) in 2001.

Lottery Strategies

Study the game, especially the odds of winning.

Decide how much you can afford to spend. Remember, never play more than you can afford to lose. Buying lottery tickets is NOT an investment.

If you are going to buy more than one ticket per draw, the ideal time is when the expected return is higher than the cost of the ticket. For example, you may want to buy an extra ticket(s) next time the Lotto 6/49 jackpot is at least $14 milion, i.e., greater than the 13,983,816 odds. If the jackpot is greater than or equal to the odds per dollar bet without attracting too many competing buyers, the maximum net expected payoff can be well in excess of the ticket price. These "fair bets" are rare occurrences, with the big US lotteries like Powerball never having produced a fair bet. Players should react to big expected returns instead of just big jackpots.

Beware of spending any money on lottery software and other so-called "systems."

Avoid buying tickets through unauthorized and illegal sellers such as on the Internet. Avoid lottery pools that charge you administration fees.

Picking Numbers

Avoid commonly played combinations since if you win, there will be a lot more winners to split the prize with. Combinations such as the following will probably be played by others in a 6/49-type lottery:

The infamous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Patterns on the play slip, e.g., vertical, diagonal or horizontal columns; corners.

All numbers chosen are between 1 and 31, i.e., birthdays.

Based on frequency analysis, e.g., six most frequently or least frequently drawn numbers, the six numbers that haven't been drawn the longest.

Recently drawn combinations.

Six-number combinations given in lottery newsgroups, software, or "psychic" phone lines.

7 is probably the most popular number.

Numbers that may be the most popular: 7, 9 and 11.

You are allowed to cancel your ticket purchase. For example, if you get a Quick Pick with a lot of popular numbers, you can keep exchanging it until you get a Quick Pick with more unpopular numbers.

Select infrequently chosen numbers. By playing rarer combinations, a ticket buyer can earn an expected return on the parimutuel prizes above the average expected payout. If you do win, there will be less people to share with in the prize pools. Possible examples are:

Choose numbers ALL above 31.

People seem to avoid consecutive numbers.

Use a Quick Pick or your own pseudo-random number generator to generate a combination with all numbers between 32-49.

Results in Lottery Buddy Ž are unofficial.

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