Do you play the lottery or lotto every week? Want to know the chances of winning the jackpot at some point in your lifetime? The read on…
One of the most common questions we get asked is “What are the chances that I’ll win the lottery/lotto jackpot in my lifetime/before I die?”. The answer is going to depend on a couple of factors – how old you are, how long you are expected to live, and how many lottery tickets you buy each week.
The table below should give you an approximate indication of your chances of winning at some point in your life, based on your age and number of tickets you buy each week. A chance of 1 in 1,000 means that for every thousand people we expect (on average) one of them to win at some point.
The data has the following assumptions:
- The same number of lottery tickets are bought every week
- Lottery tickets are purchased every week
- The average life expectancy is approximately 80 years.
| Number of Tickets Purchased Per Week (Odds are 1 in…) |
||||
| Age | 1 |
2 | 3 | 4 |
| 18 | 4337 | 2169 | 1446 | 1084 |
| 19 | 4409 | 2204 | 1470 | 1102 |
| 20 | 4482 | 2241 | 1494 | 1120 |
| 21 | 4558 | 2279 | 1519 | 1139 |
| 22 | 4637 | 2318 | 1546 | 1159 |
| 23 | 4718 | 2359 | 1573 | 1179 |
| 24 | 4802 | 2401 | 1601 | 1201 |
| 25 | 4889 | 2445 | 1630 | 1222 |
| 26 | 4980 | 2490 | 1660 | 1245 |
| 27 | 5074 | 2537 | 1691 | 1268 |
| 28 | 5172 | 2586 | 1724 | 1293 |
| 29 | 5273 | 2636 | 1758 | 1318 |
| 30 | 5378 | 2689 | 1793 | 1345 |
| 31 | 5488 | 2744 | 1829 | 1372 |
| 32 | 5602 | 2801 | 1867 | 1401 |
| 33 | 5722 | 2861 | 1907 | 1430 |
| 34 | 5846 | 2923 | 1949 | 1462 |
| 35 | 5976 | 2988 | 1992 | 1494 |
| 36 | 6112 | 3056 | 2037 | 1528 |
| 37 | 6254 | 3127 | 2085 | 1563 |
| 38 | 6403 | 3201 | 2134 | 1601 |
| 39 | 6559 | 3280 | 2186 | 1640 |
| 40 | 6723 | 3361 | 2241 | 1681 |
| 41 | 6895 | 3448 | 2298 | 1724 |
| 42 | 7077 | 3538 | 2359 | 1769 |
| 43 | 7268 | 3634 | 2423 | 1817 |
| 44 | 7470 | 3735 | 2490 | 1867 |
| 45 | 7683 | 3842 | 2561 | 1921 |
| 46 | 7909 | 3955 | 2636 | 1977 |
| 47 | 8149 | 4075 | 2716 | 2037 |
| 48 | 8404 | 4202 | 2801 | 2101 |
| 49 | 8675 | 4337 | 2892 | 2169 |
| 50 | 8964 | 4482 | 2988 | 2241 |
| 51 | 9273 | 4637 | 3091 | 2318 |
| 52 | 9604 | 4802 | 3201 | 2401 |
| 53 | 9960 | 4980 | 3320 | 2490 |
| 54 | 10343 | 5172 | 3448 | 2586 |
| 55 | 10757 | 5378 | 3586 | 2689 |
| 56 | 11205 | 5602 | 3735 | 2801 |
| 57 | 11692 | 5846 | 3897 | 2923 |
| 58 | 12224 | 6112 | 4075 | 3056 |
| 59 | 12806 | 6403 | 4269 | 3201 |
| 60 | 13446 | 6723 | 4482 | 3361 |
| 61 | 14154 | 7077 | 4718 | 3538 |
| 62 | 14940 | 7470 | 4980 | 3735 |
| 63 | 15819 | 7909 | 5273 | 3955 |
| 64 | 16807 | 8404 | 5602 | 4202 |
| 65 | 17928 | 8964 | 5976 | 4482 |
| 66 | 19209 | 9604 | 6403 | 4802 |
| 67 | 20686 | 10343 | 6895 | 5172 |
| 68 | 22410 | 11205 | 7470 | 5602 |
| 69 | 24447 | 12224 | 8149 | 6112 |
| 70 | 26892 | 13446 | 8964 | 6723 |
| 71 | 29880 | 14940 | 9960 | 7470 |
| 72 | 33615 | 16807 | 11205 | 8404 |
| 73 | 38417 | 19209 | 12806 | 9604 |
| 74 | 44820 | 22410 | 14940 | 11205 |
| 75 | 53784 | 26892 | 17928 | 13446 |
| 76 | 67230 | 33615 | 22410 | 16807 |
| 77 | 89640 | 44820 | 29880 | 22410 |
| 78 | 134460 | 67230 | 44820 | 33615 |
| 79 | 268920 | 134460 | 89640 | 67230 |
So if you are 30 years old and purchase one ticket per week, the chance that you will win the lottery at some point in your life is 1 in 5378. Feeling lucky?