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Mathematics

Mathematicians find 27 tickets that guarantee UK National Lottery win

Buying a specific set of 27 tickets for the UK National Lottery will mathematically guarantee that you win something

By Matthew Sparkes

28 July 2023

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Buying 27 tickets ensures a win in the UK National Lottery

Stephen French/Alamy

You can guarantee a win in every draw of the UK National Lottery by buying just 27 tickets, say a pair of mathematicians – but you won’t necessarily make a profit.

While there are many variations of lottery in the UK, players in the standard “Lotto” choose six numbers from 1 to 59, paying £2 per ticket. Six numbers are randomly drawn and prizes are awarded for tickets matching two or more.

David Cushing and David Stewart at the University…

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