Lotteries: Prize Structures and Probabilities

Lotteries are played in many countries around the world. Millions of people buy tickets on a regular or occasional basis in hopes of beating the odds. But how many of those dreamers have a real understanding of the mathematical principles ruling their chances? In the following pages you will find the basic information needed to clearly understand chance in terms of easy mathematical rules, and you will learn how to apply this knowledge to work out the chance of winning a prize in any lottery.

This book is addressed not only to students with a passion for the mathematics of chance, but also to those who simply want to understand how lotteries work. It is not an in-depth study of the subject, but rather an introduction to basic concepts and methods in probability, and how to apply them to most of the lotteries currently played worldwide.

We are constantly being persuaded to gamble through lottery websites, online games, and advertising. Understanding the risks of betting, and preventing the compulsion to gamble, begins with education. Education on wagering must start at the core of the matter: the knowledge of probability theory and the relevant mathematical rules applied to evaluate the chances of winning any lottery prize.

This book does not promise you any secret or system to win the lottery. If there were a systematic way of predicting a winning combination, the numerous authors of the large number of books on lottery winning systems would now be millionaires themselves and would not be selling their secrets.