How to find the best lottery odds and chances of winning

Trying to pick a lottery to play can be daunting and itâs hard to know which one has the best odds of winning. Thankfully, weâve done all the research so you donât have to.

Finding the best Lottery odds

The lottery is a simple game of chance. There is no way to predict the results but some lotteries do have better odds than others.

Every lottery has its own odds of winning. This is based on how many numbers you have to pick from.

A lottery with only 45 numbers to choose from will give you better odds of winning than a lottery with 70 numbers. It will also depend on how many of the numbers you have to match in order to win a prize.

Your odds of winning can also depend on how many numbers you have to pick. Usually, you will have to pick six numbers, in UK lotto for example. If you have to pick more or less than the odds of the lottery will change as well.

Most lotteries also have a bonus number system. In Powerball, you have to pick one extra number, which makes it much harder to win.

The more numbers you have to pick from and the amount you have to choose will affect your chances of winning the lottery.

Searching for the best jackpot odds

Most of the biggest lotteries also have the lowest odds of winning the jackpot. Thatâs why the jackpot is so high in the first place. With each draw that ends without a winner, the jackpot will keep increasing.

Lotteries with the biggest jackpots

LotteryJackpot Odds
SuperEnalotto1 in 622,614,630
Mega Millions1 in 302,575,350
Powerball1 in 292,201,338
EuroMillions1 in 139,838,160
Euro Jackpot1 in 95,344,200

As you can see from the table above, the SuperEnalotto has extremely long odds of winning the jackpot. Thatâs because you have to match 6 numbers from a total of 90. With such long odds, the jackpot can continue to roll over and over again.

There are plenty of smaller jackpots to play for though with better odds of winning the jackpot.

Smaller lotteries with best jackpot odds

LotteryJackpot Odds
UK Lotto1 in 45,057,474
El Gordo1 in 31,625,100
La Primitiva1 in 13,983,816
Bonoloto1 in 13,983,816
Lotto 6 aus 451 in 8,145,060
Thunderball1 in 8,060,598

The above lotteries may have smaller jackpots but that doesnât mean you shouldnât play them. The Thunderball is capped at £500,000, but thatâs still a huge amount to win.

The difference between jackpot odds and lottery odds

When you play the lottery youâre probably dreaming of that massive jackpot. Those are not the only prizes on offer though. Each lottery has several prize tiers, each with their own odds of winning.

Most lotteries have prizes if you manage to match just two numbers in the draw. They may not be the biggest prizes but you should at least get your entry fee back.

Lottery odds are your chances of winning any prize in the lottery.

Most games will have unfavourable odds of winning the jackpot. That means the jackpot will continue to roll over to huge amounts. As the jackpot gets larger, more tickets are sold for the draw.

Lotteries offset the low odds of winning the jackpot by making it more likely that you will win a lower amount. There are even special Must-Be-Won draws that can improve the prizes on offer.

Read more about the UK Lotto Must-be Won draws

You can easily find the odds of winning each Lottery here on Lottery24. Below youâll see the odds on winning the US Powerball.

Powerball Odds of winning

MatchesPrizeOdds
Powerball$41 in 38
1 plus Powerball$41 in 92
2 plus Powerball$71 in 701
3 main numbers$71 in 580
3 plus Powerball$1001 in 14,494
4 main numbers$1001 in 36,525
4 plus Powerball$50,0001 in 913,129
5 main numbers$1m1 in 11,688,053
5 plus PowerballJackpot1 in 292,201,338
Overall odds1 in 24.87

UK Lotto Odds of winning

MatchesPrizeOdds
2 numbersFree Lucky Dip1 in 9.3
3 numbers £301 in 97
4 numbers £1401 in 2,180
5 numbers £1,7501 in 144,415
5 numbers plus Bonus Ball £1m1 in 7,509,579
6 numbersJackpot1 in 45,057,474
Overall odds1 in 8.2

All the Lottery odds of winning at Lottery24

LotteryOdds of Winning any Prize 
UK Lotto1 in 8Play Now
Bonoloto1 in 8.4Play Now
Lotto 6 aus 451 in 12Play Now
Thunderball1 in 13Play Now
EuroMillions1 in 13Play Now
Mega Millions1 in 15Play Now
SuperEnalotto1 in 20Play Now
Powerball1 in 25Play Now
Euro Jackpot1 in 26Play Now
Lotto 6 aus 491 in 31Play Now

As you can see, some of the lotteries above have better odds than others. Of course, itâs easy to play all of them at Lottery24. With our secure system, you can be sure that your tickets are stored safely.

Check out all the jackpots and win today

Need help picking your numbers? Follow these 7 simple tips and avoid common mistakes.