Lottery Opinions & Reviews | Southern Barrel

Three pieces, each about one of the overseas games we track, and each built on something we worked out ourselves rather than repeated. A format change three weeks away, a draw that went strange in 2005, and the arithmetic behind a rule change nobody explained properly.

Irish Lotto

Ireland is retiring two lottery numbers

On 5 September, 46 and 47 stop existing and the odds improve to 1 in 8,145,060. The last time Ireland changed the maths, a syndicate had just tried to buy the whole game.

USA Power Lotto

The night 110 people won second prize, because of a biscuit

One fortune cookie factory printed the same six numbers. Five came out. The lottery assumed fraud and paid 19 million dollars it had not budgeted for.

UK Lotto

UK Lotto now draws twice a night. Here is what it costs you.

Your chance of winning something roughly doubled. Three prizes were cut to pay for it, and two rounds still have not undone what 2015 did.

No technique beats a random draw. We still think that's worth talking about.