The lottery is one of, if not the most popular form of gambling. It is a game of chance, where you bet on certain numbers in the hopes they are the ones drawn. There are different prize tiers for the different amount of numbers matched.
Players have two options when it comes to participating: they can either select their own numbers or opt for a ‘lucky dip’, which chooses random numbers for them.
But does one option offer better odds of winning than the other?
Has Anyone Won the Lottery with a Lucky Dip?
Yes, there have been numerous instances where lottery participants who opted for the lucky dip have won. Nearly half of all lottery winners chose the lucky dip option when buying their tickets.
For example, Denis Fawsitt, an 80-year-old, won over £100,000 on the Euromillions after forgetting his glasses and using a lucky dip instead of his usual numbers.
Joe Thwaite won £184 million on the Euromillions in 2022 with a lucky dip ticket, making him the UK’s biggest Euromillions lottery winner.
In 2019, Patrick and Frances Connolly claimed a £114.9 million jackpot with a lucky dip, and Ade Goodchild won £71 million the same year.
More recently, several UK EuroMillions jackpots and £1m prizes in 2023 and 2024 were claimed by lucky dip ticket-holders, with many choosing to remain anonymous.
How Often Do Lucky Dips Win the Lottery?
Around 53% of lottery winners have won using the lucky dip option. This means lucky dips account for almost half of all lottery wins, reinforcing that there is no advantage to choosing your own numbers over using a lucky dip.
Since the inception of the National Lottery, approximately 6,600 millionaires have been created. By the same ratio, it is estimated that around 3,300 of those millionaires won their fortunes with a lucky dip.
Lucky Dip vs Own Numbers: Splitting the Prize if You Win
When it comes to dividing winnings, the Lucky Dip may have a slight advantage.
If you win the lottery, you might have to share the prize with other successful players. Many people who choose their own numbers pick dates of birth or anniversaries, which are usually 31 or below. As a result, manually selected numbers that fall in this range can increase the likelihood of sharing the prize.
The Lucky Dip produces a random set of numbers that does not follow any particular pattern or restrict values to a specific range. Because of this broader spread, choosing the Lucky Dip can reduce the chance of matching the same combination as other players.
However, there are no guarantees that you will not have to share the prize.
The Bottom Line
Whether you pick your own numbers or use a lucky dip, the odds of winning the lottery remain the same. The choice is a matter of personal preference.
Some players prefer the control of selecting numbers, while others favour the convenience and randomness of a lucky dip. Both approaches play out the same way in terms of probability.
The key point is that almost half of previous winners used a lucky dip and the other half chose their own numbers, so choosing one method over the other does not change your chances.
Winning the lottery is never guaranteed, and there is nothing you can do to alter the odds.
