These are the Luckiest Lottery Numbers in Australia
Olivia Cole 
Australian lotteries have created hundreds of millionaires, and as jackpots gradually increase over the years, so does the popularity of these games. But is there a way to improve the odds of winning big? Our team at CasinoGuardian decided to delve into the world of lottery statistics and to find out which numbers have been drawn the most. We looked at the past results available at the Lotterywest website and extracted the most and the least frequently drawn numbers.
It is important to note that in lotteries, each number and each combination of numbers is equally likely to be picked as the winning one unless the game is rigged in some way. For instance, in the popular 6/49 lottery format, the combination of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 has the same odds of winning as any random combination. If we have 490 games and each of the numbered balls has the same chance of appearing, then we should see each number appearing 10 times. However, in real-life lotteries, some numbers do occur more often than others – some balls are drawn 8 or 9 times, while others come up 11 or 12 times.
This does not mean that these so-called “hot numbers” are more likely to win in the next draw. However, many people believe that they could be the lucky digits that will help them win the jackpot. Although debunked by science, such beliefs have existed for centuries and continue to be shared by millions to this day. So, before buying your lottery ticket for the week, you might want to take a look at the luckiest and unluckiest lottery numbers in Australia and choose accordingly.
Oz Lotto
When it was launched in 1994, Oz Lotto was the first nationwide lottery in Australia. Today, it is administered by Tabcorp’s The Lott brand in nearly all states and by Lotterywest in Western Australia. Draws are held every Tuesday and every AU$1.40 ticket allows players to pick 7 numbers out of 47 plus one supplementary number. To win the jackpot, or the so-called Division 1 prize, you need to match all 7 main numbers.
The current game matrix was introduced on 17 May 2022 – prior to that date, players picked 7 numbers out of 45. In addition, the number of supplementary balls drawn each time increased from two to three. The jackpot, which is progressive, starts at $3 million and has no rollover limit, nor a cap, and can reach huge sums before being hit.
Ever since that last change in May 2022, the most common numbers have been 5 (12 times), 27 and 37 (11 times). Balls 26 and 46 have been the least common, each appearing only 3 times. When it comes to the supplementary numbers, bringing bonus prizes, 40 has been the luckiest one (6 times), followed by 9 and 46 (5 times each). Numbers 5 and 12, on the other hand, have been the unluckiest ones – since May 2022, they have not been picked even once.
Lotto
Lotto is one of the most popular lottery games in Australia and has three draws per week, which we will consider as separate games. The reason for this is that over the years, various changes to the rules have been introduced at different times. These are Monday Lotto, Wednesday Lotto, and Saturday Lotto and, currently, they share the same field of numbers and odds. Players pick 6 numbers out of a pool of 45 and 2 supplementary numbers from the same 45-ball pool.
Prizes, however, differ, as well as the cost of the tickets. The weekly lotteries are operated by Tattersall’s and are available in all states, although marketed under different names in different jurisdictions – Tattslotto, Gold Lotto, X Lotto, or simply Lotto.
Saturday Lotto
Tattslotto, which is now known in some states as Saturday Lotto, was first launched in 1972 as a 6/40 game with a top prize of AU$50,000. The format was changed in 1985, however, and you then had to pick 6 numbers out of 45 plus 2 supplementary numbers. Currently, the top jackpot pool or Division 1 prize pool, is approximately $5 million each week. For this analysis, we looked at the 1,897 draws between 8 November 1986 and 11 March 2023, for which data is available on the official Lotterywest website.
The luckiest number is Saturday Lotto is 1 – it has been picked 286 times, and is followed by 22, which has been drawn 276 times. Other common numbers are 11 and 18 (275 times), and 42 (270 times). The least frequent balls in the game are 44 (218 times) and 14 (219 times). The most common supplementary ball is 4 – it has been drawn 103 times, while the least common supplementary is 24 (69 times).
Monday Lotto
New South Wales Lotteries introduced the game on 5 November 1979 and initially, it was only available within the state. It is now operated by the Tatts Group and can be played all across the country, offering jackpots of $1 million (fixed amount) for up to 4 winners. Since 1 May 2006, there have been 881 draws, including the last draw on 13 March 2023.
Ball number 20 has been drawn the most – 146 times, making it the luckiest number in Monday Lotto. The next most common numbers are 13 (139 times), 39 (133 times), and 24 (131 times), while the least common ones are 37 (99 times), 12 (100 times), and 15 and 27 (101 times).
Wednesday Lotto
Wednesday Lotto was introduced in 1984 as an additional draw in the Monday Lotto game. We looked at the 880 draws between 3 May 2006 and 8 March 2023, in which the most frequently drawn number has been 45 – it has appeared 143 times. The other common numbers are 32 (141 times), 10 (140 times), and 5 (138 times). Supplementary balls 27 and 30 have been picked 52 times, followed by 36, which has appeared 51 times.
The least common numbers in this lottery are 9 (drawn 94 times), 15 (95 times), 33 (99 times), and 18 (102 times). The unluckiest supplementary numbers appear to be 22 – picked only 20 times, as well as 25 and 32, which have been drawn 31 times so far.
Powerball, 256 Draws Analyzed
Since its introduction in 1996, the Australian Powerball has become one of the most popular lottery games in the country, mainly because it offers the largest jackpots in Australia. It was modelled after the famous U.S. lottery of the same name and currently, the jackpot or Division 1 prize starts at $3 million and rolls over each time it is not won. Tickets cost $1.10 plus an agent’s commission, and to win the top prize, players are required to match 7 numbers out of 35 plus one Powerball out of a pool of 20.
Since 19 April 2018, the first draw to be conducted under the current rules, there have been 256 Powerball draws. Within them, the number appearing most often is 17, having been drawn 66 times. It is followed by 7 (62 times), 9 (60 times), and 2 (59 times), while the most common Powerballs have been 19 (19 times) and 3 (18 times). The unluckiest balls in the game are 31 and 33, appearing only 41 times, and Powerballs 14 and 16 are the least frequent ones, having been picked only 7 and 8 times, respectively.
Set for Life, 1,086 Draws Analyzed
Based on similar games in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Set for Life is the newest lottery in Australia, and pays the top jackpot as an annuity rather than in a lump sum. Winners of the top prize receive $20,000 per month for 20 years – in case of several winning tickets, the prize is split evenly between the winners, and each one receives equal amounts in monthly instalments.
Although the game was introduced in 2015, it was redesigned in 2020 when the main pool of numbers was increased from 37 to 44, while the bonus numbers became supplementaries. Now, to win the Division 1 prize, players have to match all 7 main numbers. The two supplementary numbers are used for the other prizes. This major change in the rules was introduced with the 23 March 2020 draw, which is why we looked at the 1,086 draws conducted since then – the lottery is conducted daily, hence the large number of draws.
Analyzing these draws, we found the most common number to be 15, appearing 211 times, followed by 41 (202 times), 11 (198 times), and 21 (195 times). The least frequent number, on the other hand, has been 6 – appearing only 154 times, followed by 10, 29, and 39, each of which has been drawn 156 times. The most common supplementary numbers have been 26, 29, and 40 (62 times), while the least common ones – 44 (35 times) and 17 (37 times).