The odds of winning the lottery are different for each type of lottery and depend on the number of balls drawn and on the total number of balls used in it. If one plays the same lottery and the lottery does not change its rules, such as the total number of balls in the lottery and the possible numbers of balls drawn, then the odds of winning the top prize remain the same.

The payoff might vary though. Some lotteries have a fixed amount top tier prize; others have a varying amount jackpot, say due to rollovers. In any case, winning the jackpot is a life‑changing event. However, the odds of winning the lottery differ between different lotteries, and are always determined by the total number of balls used and the number of balls drawn.

There is one sure way to increase your odds of winning the lottery—that is to play more tickets than just one. For example, the odds of winning a jackpot in Lotto 6/45 are 1 in 8,145,060. Playing 10 different tickets would improve the odds to 1 in 814,506. Playing 100 different tickets would further improve the odds to 1 in 81,450.6.

For a 6/56 lottery, playing 8,145,060 different tickets will cover all possible draws. This will guarantee you the jackpot (and a large number of lower‑tier prizes). If the jackpot is large, it can make sense to aim for a part of it by being a member of a lottery syndicate, which can buy many more different tickets than an individual player.

The odds of winning the lottery using the same numbers are the same as using different numbers every time you play, assuming all other conditions are the same. Each unique line has the same probability in any given draw, and previous draws do not affect future draws (modern lotteries are designed to be unbiased).

It’s often claimed that you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery. This is not universally true. There are over 600 lotteries worldwide and odds vary widely. For many lotteries, winning is easier than “being struck by lightning”.

Lightning statistics are collected per year, while lotteries draw many times per week. Comparisons depend on which lottery and which population we consider.

USA reference data: According to the National Weather Service there are on average 27 fatalities and 243 injuries from lightning per year (2009–2018), while there are 1,000+ lottery millionaires annually according to media and NASPL reports.

Sources: weather.gov, TLC “The Lottery Changed My Life”, NASPL/public gaming reports.

Playing more different tickets increases your chance in proportion to the number of tickets. For a 5/35 lottery (odds 1 in 324,632 per ticket), playing every day for a year (365 tickets) gives an approximate chance of 1 in 889.4 of winning during that period. The precise probability is about 1 in 889.9.

These approximations hold when the number of draws is small compared to the number of possible draws. The exact math is more involved but the approximation is very close here.

For the same total number of different tickets, spreading them daily or weekly is approximately equivalent. In a 5/35 game, playing once a week for a year yields approximate odds of 1 in 6,242.9 for that year (using the same approximation methods). Exact odds require more advanced math.

In general, total different lines matter more than frequency. Larger jackpots may be a reason to time purchases, but odds per line remain the same.

As a rough illustration (from Dr. Bluskov’s books), spending $20 per week on a weekly draw over a lifetime leads to an approximate 2% chance of hitting a $1,000,000+ jackpot. Many players will have smaller wins that partially offset costs without a jackpot.

Precise evaluation must consider missed draws, variable spend, how lower‑tier wins are reinvested, prize‑tier distributions, and changes to rules over time.

Buying more different tickets improves your chance in direct proportion to the number of tickets (per draw). For example, in a 6/45 lottery (1 in 8,145,060), 10 different tickets give 1 in 814,506; 100 tickets give 1 in 81,450.6. Scaling to very large sets is typically only feasible within a syndicate.

Syndicates improve the chance of being part of a win by pooling many more different lines. For the same personal spend, buying a share of many lines can be preferable to owning a single line, though prizes are shared.

Winning two separate jackpots in specific draws is the product of the two odds (for example, 1 in 1,000,000,000,000 if each draw is 1 in 1,000,000 with one line per draw). Over a lifetime of play, while still very unlikely, a repeat win becomes more feasible due to the large number of tickets sold over time.

Related: drawing the exact same winning numbers in a lottery can occur over long periods. For instance, Bulgarian Lotto 6/49 repeated the same six numbers in consecutive draws in 2009 (different order).