Odds, worked out Updated 29 Oct 2026
Your Lottery Platforms Guide 2025
Lottery odds are fixed by the game's matrix: how many numbers you pick and how many balls they come from. For the big jackpot games they are long. A Powerball line has jackpot odds of 292,201,338. A EuroMillions line has jackpot odds of 139,838,160.
Nothing about how you choose numbers changes those odds. Every line has the same chance, and past draws have no effect on the next. Two things do change your chance: how many different lines you hold, and which lottery you play. This page compares the lotteries and shows the arithmetic for adding lines.
Better odds do not make a lottery a good bet. Every lottery pays out less in prizes than it takes in sales, so the expected return on a ticket is below its price whichever game you choose.
- Odds are set by the number matrix, not by the numbers you choose
- Each extra different line adds the same chance and the same cost
- Smaller matrices give better odds and usually smaller jackpots
Powerball odds as you add lines
How the Powerball jackpot odds move as you add different lines to one draw.
At 292,201,338, a Powerball line is about 21 times less likely to win the jackpot than a Lotto 6/49 line at 13,983,816.
Buying 21 Powerball lines brings you to roughly the odds of one Lotto 6/49 line, at 21 times the cost. Switching games changes the odds per ticket; buying more tickets changes only the total you hold.
Sweden Lotto has jackpot odds of 6,724,520. Sweden Lotto asks for 7 numbers from 35, a smaller matrix than Lotto 6/49, so its jackpot odds are shorter.
- 1 line 1 in 292,201,338
- 10 lines 1 in 29,220,134
- 50 lines 1 in 5,844,027
- 100 lines 1 in 2,922,013
- 500 lines 1 in 584,403
| Lines | Group odds of the jackpot | Against one line |
|---|---|---|
| 1 line | 1 in 292,201,338 | 1× as likely |
| 10 lines | 1 in 29,220,134 | 10× as likely |
| 50 lines | 1 in 5,844,027 | 50× as likely |
| 100 lines | 1 in 2,922,013 | 100× as likely |
| 500 lines | 1 in 584,403 | 500× as likely |
One Powerball line has jackpot odds of 1 in 292,201,338. Different lines add their chances; a shared prize is split by share.
How lottery odds are worked out
Count the lines
Odds are the number of different lines the game allows. Order does not matter, so a 6 from 49 game such as Lotto 6/49 has 13,983,816 possible lines and exactly one of them wins the jackpot.
Bonus pools multiply
A separate bonus pool multiplies the count. In Powerball, 1 Powerball from 26 multiplies the 11,238,513 ways to pick 5 main numbers from 69 into 292,201,338 lines.
More lines, proportional gain
Ten different lines are ten times as likely to win as one, and cost ten times as much. The odds per line do not change.
Odds are not value
Better odds make a jackpot less remote. They do not make the ticket a good bet, because prizes paid out are less than sales taken in.
Jackpot odds for one line, big lotteries compared
Odds of a single line winning the top prize, from the longest to the shortest.
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1 line
SuperEnalotto
Pick 6 numbers from 90. Jackpot odds are 622,614,630.
-
1 line
Powerball
Pick 5 numbers from 69 and 1 Powerball from 26. Jackpot odds are 292,201,338.
-
1 line
Mega Millions
Pick 5 numbers from 70 and 1 Mega Ball from 24. Jackpot odds are 290,472,336.
-
1 line
EuroMillions
Pick 5 numbers from 50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 12. Jackpot odds are 139,838,160.
-
1 line
EuroJackpot
Pick 5 numbers from 50 and 2 Euro numbers from 12. Jackpot odds are 139,838,160.
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1 line
German Lotto
Pick 6 numbers from 49; the jackpot also needs the Superzahl, 1 of 10 digits. Jackpot odds are 139,838,160.
-
1 line
Lotto 6/49
Pick 6 numbers from 49. Jackpot odds are 13,983,816.
-
1 line
Sweden Lotto
Pick 7 numbers from 35. Jackpot odds are 6,724,520.
Lottery odds: questions
What are the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot?
A single Powerball line has jackpot odds of 292,201,338. You pick 5 numbers from 69 and 1 Powerball from 26. More on the game on our Powerball page.
Which lottery has the best jackpot odds?
Of the big draws compared here, Sweden Lotto has the best jackpot odds per line at 6,724,520, and Lotto 6/49 comes next at 13,983,816. Games with smaller matrices usually have smaller jackpots too. The lottery draws guide explains how each draw runs.
Which lottery is the hardest to win?
SuperEnalotto has the longest jackpot odds in our comparison, 622,614,630 for one line, because you must match 6 numbers from 90.
Can I improve my odds by choosing certain numbers?
No. Every combination has the same chance in every draw, and past results do not affect the next one. Hot and cold numbers, patterns and predictor apps leave the odds where they are. See our hot and cold numbers guide.
Does buying more tickets help?
More different lines raise your chance in direct proportion, and raise your cost by the same amount. A syndicate does the same for a group and splits any prize between members.
Are the odds the same online and in a shop?
Yes. A line bought through a lottery site is entered into, or mirrors, the same draw with the same matrix, so the odds per line do not change. Buying online follows the same steps as in the how to play the lottery guide.
Set the spend before you pick the numbers.
Most lottery lines win nothing. Decide a monthly amount you can lose, and use the deposit limits on the site you play at.