Lottery mathematics Lottery mathematics Lottery mathematics is used to calculate probabilities of winning or losing a lottery game. It is based heavily on combinatorics, particularly the twelvefold way and combinations without replacement. In a typical 6/49 game, each player chooses six distinct numbers from a range of 1-49. If the six numbers on a ticket match the numbers drawn by the lottery, the ticket holder is a jackpot winner—regardless of the order of the numbers. The probability of this happening is 1 in 13,983,816. The chance of winning can be demonstrated as follows: The first number drawn has a 1 in 49
Lottery jackpot records Lottery jackpot records This is a collection of notable lottery jackpot records in the United States and Europe, listing the largest prizes/jackpots awarded in various drawings. Spain's "Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad" (Spanish Christmas Lottery) is generally considered to be the world's largest lottery game, with the largest first prize/jackpot. In 2012, the first prize was €720 million (then US$941.8 million). The total prize pool in 2012 was €2.52 billion (US$3.297 billion). The tickets for this drawing have pre-printed five-digit numbers, with each set of numbers sold multiple times in "series". For example, a ticket with the number "00001" was printed