What Are The Odds Of Winning The Lottery?

This is a question that both new and seasoned lotto players often ask themselves; "What are my chances of ever winning the lotto?" The answer isn't as simple as you may think and many different factors come into play when participating in different lotteries. So let's go over all the different odds, probabilities and percentages of winning the lotto!

Before going into more detail it's important to draw a distinction between winning a lottery prize and hitting the jackpot; winning a prize is easy but hitting the jackpot is a little more tricky and may require some strategy. But always remember; winning that big life changing jackpot CAN happen. You need only to look at the many people who win millions every week from different lotteries around the world.

Check out all the winning stories in our latest news section.

What's also important to note is that different lotteries have different winning odds. This all comes down to the number pool of the particular lottery that you are playing; the less broad the number range the better your chances of winning a cash prize are. Below are the odds of winning a prize, alongside the jackpot odds, of some of the biggest lotteries in the world. Keep in mind that this data could change as lotteries regularly alter the number range for their draws.

Below we'll extensively cover the odds of winning each lottery, the different prize tiers and the cash prize amounts of each tier. With this information you'll be able to decide with lottery you want to play and what you stand to win, also you'll be able to formulate a strategy on how many tickets to buy and when to play them.

Lottery - Starting prize odds - Jackpot odds

EuroMillions - 1:13 - 1: 160 000 000

US Powerball - 1:30 - 1: 290 000 000

EuroJackpot - 1:26 - 1: 95 000 000

Mega Millions - 1:14 - 1: 250 000 000

SuperEnalotto - 1: 22 - 1: 622 000 000

Mega Sena - 1:2300 - 1: 50 000 000

UK National Lottery - 1:10 - 1: 45 000 000

Lotto 649 - 1:8 - 1: 14 000 000

Now let's break down each lottery with their individual prize tiers, and the odds at winning any one of those prizes.

Odds of Winning EuroMillions

Launched in 2004, the EuroMillions is one of the most popular lotteries in Europe and around the rest of the world. There are thirteen different prize tiers in the EuroMillions each with different odds at winning any one of them. Jackpots regularly exceed €100 million, and Super Draws bring players even bigger prizes and jackpots! The biggest star won EuroMillions jackpot came in at £167 million.

Thirteenth Tier (2 Numbers) - 1: 13

Twelfth Tier (2 Numbers + 1 Star) - 1: 46

Eleventh Tier (1 Numbers + 2 Star) - 1: 157

Tenth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 327

Ninth Tier (3 Numbers + 1 Star) - 1: 654

Eighth Tier (2 Numbers + 2 Star) - 1: 882

Seventh Tier (3 Numbers + 2 Stars) - 1: 11 700

Sixth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 14 000

Fifth Tier (4 Numbers + 1 Star) - 1: 28 000

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers + 2 Star) - 1: 517 000

Third Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 3 200 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers + 1 Star) - 1: 6 400 000

Jackpot (5 Numbers + 2 Star) - 1: 116 000 000

Odds of Winning US Powerball

The US Powerball is currently the largest lottery in North America, and is played by lotto players from all around the world. The US Powerball consists of nine different prize tiers each with different odds of winning. The minimum Powerball jackpot currently stands at $40 million, and jackpots regularly exceed $100 million after rollover. The biggest ever US Powerball win. and biggest win in lotto history, was a $1.6 billion jackpot won by three people in 2016.

Ninth Tier (Powerball) - 1: 31

Eighth Tier (1 Number + Powerball) - 1: 91

Seventh Tier (2 Numbers + Powerball) - 1: 579

Sixth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 701

Fifth Tier (3 Numbers + Powerball) - 1: 14 000

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 36 000

Third Tier (4 Numbers + Powerball) - 1: 910 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 11 000 000

Jackpot (5 Numbers + Powerball) - 1: 290 000 000

Odds of Winning EuroJackpot

The EuroJackpot is another big lottery based in Europe which is especially popular in Germany and Scandinavia, and is also currently gaining popularity among international lotto players. The EuroJackpot has twelve different prize tiers each with different odds at winning. Jackpots start at €10 million and can rollover all the way up to €90 million.

Twelfth Tier (2 Numbers + 1 Euronumber) - 1: 26

Eleventh Tier (1 Number + 2 Euronumber) - 1: 128

Tenth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 344

Ninth Tier (3 Numbers + 1 Euronumber) - 1: 602

Eighth Tier (2 Numbers + 2 Euronumber) - 1: 672

Seventh Tier (3 Numbers + 2 Euronumber) - 1: 9600

Sixth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 15 000

Fifth Tier (4 Numbers + 1 Euronumber) - 1: 26 000

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers + 2 Euronumber) - 1: 423 000

Third Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 3 400 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers + 1 Euronumber) - 1: 5 900 000

Jackpot (5 Numbers + 2 Euronumbers) - 1: 95 000 000

Odds of Winning Mega Millions

Along with the US Powerball, the Mega Millions is the other big lottery outside of the United States. In recent years it is also being played in countries outside of North America. The Mega Millions offers nine different prize tiers, each with different odds of winning. Jackpots start at $40 million and the record Mega Millions jackpot was a whopping $640 million.

Ninth Tier (Megaball) - 1: 14

Eighth Tier (1 Number + Megaball) - 1: 56

Seventh Tier (2 Numbers + Megaball) - 1: 473

Sixth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 766

Fifth Tier (3 Numbers + Megaball) - 1: 10 000

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 52 000

Third Tier (4 Numbers + Megaball) - 1: 739 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 18 400 000

Jackpot (5 Numbers + Megaball) - 1: 250 000 000

Odds of Winning SuperEnalotto

First taking place in Italy in 1950, the SuperEnalotto is one of the world's oldest lotteries but has since gone on to take the entire world by storm. The SuperEnalotto has six different prize tiers each with different odds of winning. There is no jackpot cap on the Superenalotto meaning it will continue to rollover until it is won, the largest recorded Superenalotto jackpot was €177 million.

Sixth Tier (2 Numbers) - 1: 22

Fifth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 327

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 12 000

Third Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 1 250 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers +1 Jolly) - 1: 100 000 000

Jackpot (6 Numbers) - 1: 622 000 000

Odds of Winning Mega Sena

The Mega Sena is a little different from other lotteries, it doesn't have as many prize tiers but the prizes are also much bigger when compared to other lotteries. There are three different prize tiers for the Mega Sena each with their own different odds at winning. The highest ever recorded Mega Sena jackpot was R$64.9 million which was won by a single player.

Third Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 2 300

Second Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 154 000

Jackpot (6 Numbers) - 1: 50 000 000

Odds of Winning the UK National Lottery

The most well known lottery in the United Kingdom, tickets have only recently been made to those living outside of the UK. The UK National Lottery currently has six separate prize tiers, all with different odds at winning. The jackpots for the UK National Lottery start at around £4 million, with a record jackpot of £167 million being won by a single individual in 2017.

Sixth Tier (2 Numbers) - 1: 10

Fifth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 97

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 2100

Third Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 144 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers + Bonus) - 1: 7 500 000

Jackpot (6 Numbers) - 1: 45 000 000

Odds of Winning the Lotto 649

Lottery 649 was the first national lottery ever launched in Canada which allowed players to pick their own lucky numbers. Now played around the world, the Looto 649 offers up some of the biggest jackpots in North America. The Lotto 649 has seven different prize tiers each with the own probability of being won. The largest ever jackpot won in the Lotto 649 was $64 million, with the lowest jackpot starting at $5 million.

Seventh Tier (2 Numbers) - 1: 8

Sixth Tier (2 Numbers + Bonus) - 1: 56

Fifth Tier (3 Numbers) - 1: 81

Fourth Tier (4 Numbers) - 1: 1000

Third Tier (5 Numbers) - 1: 55 000

Second Tier (5 Numbers + Bonus) - 1: 2 300 000

Jackpot (6 Numbers) - 1 : 14 000 000

Jackpot Sizes

So at this point you might be asking yourself; "why do some lotteries have better odds at winning than others?" Well this all comes down to general and jackpot prize values, with larger jackpots and prizes being more difficult to win, and therefore having higher odds at hitting the jackpots. Below is a breakdown of some of the biggest record-breaking jackpots from lotteries all on offer here at Giant Lottos:

EuroMillions - €190 Million - Won on October 24th 2014 by a Portuguese ticket holder

US Powerball - $1.6 Billion - Won on January 13th 2016 with the jackpot being split three ways

EuroJackpot - €90 Million - Won on May 15th 2015 by a player from the Czech Republic

Mega Millions - $656 Million - Won on March 30th 2012 by a retired couple from Illinois

SuperEnalotto - €177 Million - Won on October 10th 2010 by a lottery syndicate from Milan

Mega Sena - R$65 Million - Won in 1999 by a single player from El Salvador

UK National Lottery - £35 Million - Won in April 2016 by a single ticket holder from London

Lotto 649 - $64 Million - Won on 17th October 2015 by a player from Ontario

Tips On How To Improve Your Odds At Winning The Lottery

With the above information you should be able to decide which lotteries you want to play, what your odds are at winning at a certain prize tier and the amount you will win at each tier. Here are a few additional tips that you can use to help better your odds at winning the lottery.

Buy more tickets. Consider for a moment that your odds at winning the jackpot for the US Powerball is 1: 290 000 000 for an individual ticket. This means that if you were to buy 50 tickets for an individual US Powerball draw your odds at winning the jackpot would jump to 1:580 000; much better looking odds!

Play all your tickets in one draw. Say that you only intend to buy 100 lottery tickets every year. You will have better odds at winning if you were to play all 100 tickets in a single draw than if you spread out the tickets to multiple draws.

Pick numbers larger than 31. While this tip won't necessarily improve your odds at winning the lottery, it will help you increase the amount of money that could win. It is a common strategy for people to pick birthdays as lucky numbers, meaning that more people play numbers under 31. Play numbers bigger than 31 to ensure that you split your winnings with less people.

Play lesser known lotteries. Like the previous tip, this one might not improve your odds at winning but it will ensure that you split the pot with less people. While plenty of people from around the world play in big lotteries like the US Powerball and EuroMillions, there are also smaller lesser-known lotteries (also with big jackpots and prize tiers) that not as many players take part in.

Choose a lottery that is right for you. It is important to know different lotteries have different odds at winning, offer different prizes and all come at different prices. Some lotteries provide cheaper tickets with more prize tiers, but also have lower jackpots. While some lotteries have lower odds at winning but have multi-million dollar jackpots up for grabs. So before you buy tickets know what you want from your lotto!

Join a lottery syndicate. Being part of a lotto syndicate essentially means you're getting more chances at winning a prize while spending less on tickets. A lottery syndicate essentially gives you more playing power by playing more tickets and splitting the winnings among the syndicate members without having to purchase all of those tickets yourself.

How Many People Win The Lottery?

To give you an even better idea of your odds at winning the lottery, lets take a look at some winning stats! Below are the figures of players from all around the world who have bested the odds to go on and win the lottery.

• More than 1,600 new lottery millionaires are created every year, that's roughly 4 new millionaires everyday!
• Since the UK National Lottery has launched it has created 3,600 millionaires and paid out roughly £53 billion in winnings
• The average US Powerball draw sees roughly 1 million winners from across all prize tiers
• A single family has hit the jackpot on three separate occasions to earn £3.25 million in winnings

Want even more in-depth lottery winning tips? Check out our lottery winning tips page and increase your winning odds even more!