Sarah Ryle
At last an economics professor has done something useful. He has worked out that punters who chose the six least popular numbers from the British National Lottery’s list of 49 stand to make an average weekly return of 11% on their stakes.
The magic numbers – 36, 41, 46, 47, 48 and 49 – have an expected value of 1,11, compared with the six most-selected numbers – 17, 18, 19, 23, 27 and 28 -which are worth 22p.
According to Ian Walker of Keele University in the United Kingdom, to maximise winnings players must minimise the chances of having to share their gains. But the professor, who says he will never buy a lottery ticket, admits there is a catch to this cunning plan: “You would have to live a very long time to be sure of making the 11% return. I haven’t worked it out because nobody would live that long.”