What Are The Most Unusual Lotto Results Ever?
Last Updated: Wednesday 23rd September 2020, 13:48
While all lottery draws are major events for the lucky players who win great prizes, every now and again a draw will take place where the results are so striking that they really catch the eye. It may be that there are an extraordinary amount of winners or the sequence of numbers is particularly unusual.
Wednesday’s Lotto draw grabbed the attention when three ticket holders managed to match all six main numbers to split a jackpot of £1.9 million. It is a rare occurrence, if not too unlikely, to have so many big winners, although as the highest number on the night was 31, one possible explanation is that the players used important dates to pick their numbers.
There were also four winners of the top prize in the Thunderball draw last Friday, 17th March. The main numbers drawn, 4, 8, 16, 28 and 32, were all multiples of four. The Thunderball was 10 and, unlike with Lotto, the winning ticket holders bagged £500,000 each rather than having to share the jackpot.
Both these recent draws had unusual results, but there are some even more remarkable results from the past:
133 Jackpot Winners
Back on Saturday 14th January 1995, a staggering 133 players shared a Lotto jackpot of £16.2 million after matching the numbers 7, 17, 23, 32, 38 and 42. Why did so many ticket holders pick the same, apparently-random numbers? It was discovered that they were all printed in the central columns of the playslip, and so each winner had to be content with receiving a £122,510 payout.
Multiples of Seven
There were no jackpot winners in the Lotto draw on Wednesday 23rd March 2016, but incredibly there were 4,082 players who managed to match five main numbers. To put that in context, just 30 ticket holders matched five main numbers on Wednesday 15th March 2017. The main numbers were 7, 14, 21, 35, 41 and 42, five of which are multiples of seven, which is considered a lucky number by many people. As the payout for the Match 5 prize tier depends on the number of winners and the amount of money in the pot, everyone in this category picked up £15 each.
Had the 41 been a 28, it is possible that those 4,082 players would have shared the jackpot, presuming they had all decided to play consecutive multiples of seven.
History Repeats Itself
The Bulgarian lottery hit the headlines in 2009 when the numbers 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 42 were selected on 10th September. That might not sound too unusual, but the exact same numbers had also come up in the previous draw four days earlier. Nobody won on 6th September, but a record 18 participants landed the top prize second time around, and selecting the same numbers that have just come up is thought to be a popular strategy for many players. The chances of such an event happening in the Bulgarian lottery were calculated at one in four million.
What These Results Mean?
Due to the amount of lotteries that take place and the random nature of the draws, it is almost inevitable that coincidences or strange results will occur from time to time. Players who use patterns or past results to pick numbers can therefore strike it lucky, but these unusual draws suggest that lots of other participants do the same.
It may therefore be better to avoid such sequences and go for something more random, as you are then less likely to have to share a big prize if your numbers are drawn. Every combination has the same chance of coming up, so it is entirely up to you how you decide to pick your numbers. You can choose numbers online or visit an authorised retailer in the UK ahead of the next big draw.