With Friday night’s $50 million Lotto Max jackpot up for grabs, many lottery players are searching for any edge they can find. While lottery officials stress every draw is random, a new analysis has revealed which numbers have appeared most often since Lotto Max launched in 2009.
According to data compiled by playcasino.com, number 28 is now the most frequently drawn Lotto Max number of all time, appearing 208 times in 1,284 draws. That moves it ahead of longtime front-runner number 7, which sits tied with 19 at 206 appearances.
The shift happened recently. At the end of September, 28 and 7 were deadlocked at 204 draws each. Since then, 28 has been drawn four times in eight draws, including the record-breaking $90 million draw on October 20, won by a ticket sold in Alberta.
Rounding out the top 10 most-drawn numbers are 39, 30, 36, 22, 2, 24 and 38.
Meanwhile, numbers 33 and 49 rank as the least-drawn numbers in Lotto Max history, each appearing just 157 times. Number 27 has been drawn 158 times, while 21 and 42 have appeared 164 times.
Recent trends are also turning heads. Tuesday night’s winning numbers were 5, 7, 16, 23, 28, 30 and 47, with 23 appearing for the fourth time in the last five draws.
For players who like to follow hot and cold numbers, 27 currently holds the longest active drought, having gone 28 draws without being selected. Number 3 has been absent for 27 draws, while number 9 hasn’t appeared in 24 draws.
Lottery experts, however, caution against reading too much into the statistics.
“28 creeping past 7 after 17 years of draws is a fun twist, but it tells you nothing about what will come out on Friday,” data analysts at playcasino.com noted. “The balls don’t remember what was drawn last week or back in 2009.”
The analysts also point out that every Lotto Max play carries the same odds of winning the jackpot: 1 in 33,446,140.
Friday’s draw features a $50 million jackpot, along with two Maxmillions prizes worth $1 million each and 50 MaxPlus prizes of $100,000.
Whether you’re picking birthdays, favourite numbers or riding the hot streak of number 28, lottery experts say the most important strategy remains the same: play for fun and only spend what you can afford to lose.
