Two Manchester mathematicians say 27 chosen UK National Lottery tickets guarantee a prize in every draw

With Diwali approaching, buying a lottery ticket alongside the festive food and lights is a common sight in many homes. Most people try their luck, hoping money will come easily without much effort. Winning a lottery is largely considered a game of chance. But would you believe a mathematical trick could fetch some prize in every draw?

Two British mathematicians from the University of Manchester, David Stewart and David Cushing, claim to have proved this in their research. According to them, buying exactly 27 chosen tickets in the UK's National Lottery can guarantee at least one prize in every draw. The method they found assures a small prize or a free ticket.

The mathematicians arranged the numbers from 1 to 59 in geometric shapes to create 27 special sets of numbers. These are arranged so that any one of the tickets will match at least two numbers from the draw. An experiment was also carried out by buying 27 tickets on this pattern. Three tickets matched two numbers each, which won 3 "Lucky Dips", or free tickets.

The trick has another side. It guarantees small or large prizes or free tickets, but it cannot be said that a big jackpot will be won. The biggest risk is that there can be a gap between what it costs to buy 27 tickets and the cash prize received in return.

Peter Rowlett of Sheffield Hallam University says the trick is technically correct, yet for 99 per cent of people the chance of a loss is greater than the chance of a gain. Stewart and Cushing themselves acknowledged that they lost more money than they had put in.

The Manchester mathematicians' research shows that a winning strategy can be built with the power of mathematics. But in gambling or lotteries, the risk to money and the possibility of loss never disappear entirely. This is only an example to be understood through mathematics and should not be taken as investment advice. So, if you are thinking of trying your luck with a lottery ticket this Diwali, keep this mathematical game to entertainment alone, because uncertainty always remains in luck and risk.