Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about how we rank lotteries.
What does the rating mean?
Each lottery's rating compares it to today's lowest-value lottery on the board. A rating of 1.7× means that lottery is offering 70% more expected value per dollar than the worst-ranked draw today. The higher the rating, the better the expected return relative to the alternatives.
How is the rating calculated?
Three steps: (1) We work out the expected jackpot return per dollar — jackpot divided by expected winners, divided by the cost-adjusted odds. (2) We add the expected return from all other prize divisions, calibrated from a long history of actual draw results. (3) We compare every lottery to the lowest-value one on the board today and express the result as a multiplier. The breakdown for any lottery is visible by tapping its row.
Why one rating instead of separate jackpot and total scores?
Earlier we showed two separate scores. Users found this confusing because the jackpot-only and total-value rankings could disagree, and the same lottery could appear to have very different scores. We now use a single rating based on total expected value (jackpot + all other divisions). If you want to see how much of the rating comes from the jackpot vs other prizes, tap any row — the breakdown is shown there.
What do the four sort modes do?
Best Value (default) sorts by the rating. Biggest Jackpot sorts by the headline jackpot amount. Best Odds sorts by the lowest jackpot odds. Cheapest sorts by the lowest ticket price. The rating itself does not change between modes — only the order of the rows. The Best Value badge always travels with the highest-rated lottery, regardless of which sort you choose.
What are expected jackpot shares?
When a lottery jackpot gets very large, more people buy tickets, which increases the chance of multiple winners sharing the prize. We estimate how many winners are likely based on historical data. For example, Powerball jackpots under $90 million typically have 1 winner, but above $140 million there are often 3 or more. Raffle-style lotteries like Dream Home Art Union and Yourtown always have exactly 1 winner.
Can I adjust the expected shares?
Yes. Tap any lottery row to expand its details. You’ll see +/- buttons to adjust the expected shares, and the rating will recalculate instantly. This lets you see how the value changes under different sharing scenarios.
How often is the data updated?
Lotteries sourced from The Lott (Powerball, Oz Lotto, Saturday Gold Lotto, Weekday Windfall, Set for Life, Super 66, Lucky Lotteries) are updated automatically via their API every morning. Dream Home Art Union and Yourtown are updated when their current draw closes for entries and a new draw is announced. Other-division returns are recalculated daily from the most recent draw results.
Why is Saturday Gold Lotto set to 4 shares?
Saturday Gold Lotto has much lower odds of winning (1 in 8.1 million) compared to Powerball or Oz Lotto, which means multiple winners are very common. Historical data shows an average of about 4 division one winners per draw, so we use 4 as the default.
How are Dream Home Art Union and Yourtown different from other lotteries?
They are raffle-style lotteries with a fixed number of tickets. There can only ever be one jackpot winner per draw. We assume all tickets are sold. Dream Home Art Union’s rating is based on the $100 book (which gives the best per-ticket price), while Yourtown is based on $15 per ticket (no bulk discounts).
Does Lotto Logic account for special bonus games or Prize Boost draws?
Yes. Special draws like Prize Boost, Megadraw and Superdraw are detected automatically and factored into the rating. Prize Boost adds a 30% bonus to divisions 2–7, which is reflected in the rating for that draw. The label appears as a small badge next to the lottery name.
Do you sell lottery tickets?
No, we do not sell lottery tickets. We are not associated with or connected to any lottery company. We are an independent analysis tool.
Does a higher rating mean I should buy that lottery?
Not necessarily. All lotteries have a negative expected return — you will always expect to lose money on average. The rating simply tells you which lottery gives you the least-worst odds for your dollar. This is mathematical analysis for entertainment purposes, not gambling advice.
Where does the data come from?
Jackpot amounts and draw numbers for most lotteries come from The Lott’s public data API. Odds and cost per game are derived from official lottery rules. Other-division returns are calculated daily from the actual prize payouts of the most recent draws. Dream Home Art Union and Yourtown data is sourced from their respective websites.