One of the most exciting ways to try and change your life in Ireland is by trying to win the lotto. Some drawn numbers are a lot more common than others. Although it’s a random process, and every single number has as much chance of being drawn as any other, it’s surprising to see the difference.
Here, we will take you back in history, through the Ireland lotto years so that you can see the most frequently drawn numbers. Below, you can see the all-time leaderboard for the most drawn numbers amongst all the different balls so that you can see which ones are more likely to make an appearance – and you can decide whether you want to put money on them to show up again… or do you want to try your luck on a less common number to win a million!
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A Guide to Choosing Lucky Lotto Numbers
Playing the lottery is a game of luck – with zero skill involved. You simply pick your numbers, buy your tickets and wait for the Wednesday or Saturday draw to see whether you win the jackpot. However, not all lotteries are created equally – with some being easier to win than others. However, winning the jackpot is hard – choosing the right numbers and the right sequence. Winning the jackpot usually has odds of millions to one – so predicting the correct numbers is no easy task!
Obviously, there are certain number sequences people avoid for obvious reasons – people generally don’t tend to go for linear sequences for a start! Some people also give credence to notions such as ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ numbers – i.e. 7 being a lucky number and 13 being an unlucky number. However, the lottery never works on superstition and every single number has the same chance of being drawn as any other. However, despite this, it seems that some numbers are drawn far more regularly than others. That’s why we looked through all the different numbers to see which ones come up with more or less frequency.
The Top 5 Most Commonly Drawn Lotto Numbers
Number |
Frequency |
Percentage Drawn |
| Number 1 | 355 times | 17% total |
| Number 22 | 339 times | 16.24% total |
| Number 19 | 335 times | 16.04% total |
| Lucky Number 13 | 330 times | 15.8% total |
| Number 15 | 330 times | 15.8% total |
Predicting the Ireland Lotto Numbers Through Probability
But does knowing this help at all? Can you attempt to predict the Ireland lotto numbers through probability – based on facts and stats?
There are generally three types of players. Those lottery players who simply pick random numbers and hope to win the prize. Then there are those that choose numbers special to them and continue to keep using those special numbers week in and week out. Finally, there are players who try to use logic, by looking at past lotto draws to predict the probability of these numbers being drawn again. This is simply all about the law of averages – which makes sense to some extent.
It has been touted that it is possible to predict which lotto numbers will be drawn. There has been research and statistical analysis to back it up – and conclusions have been reached that it is possible to predict certain combinations that are more likely to be drawn.
Despite these theories, it’s safe to say that there’s no easy way to predict which numbers will be drawn in the next lotto, unfortunately! Probability is not an exact science – and this means that it rarely follows through as expected. This would rely on the lottery effectively having a ‘memory’ – which is ultimately what is described by many as ‘Gambler’s Fallacy’ unfortunately! It may not win us the lottery, but it does, however, have a way of increasing our chances.
Are There Such Things as Lucky Numbers?
So, is there something behind the myth that lucky and unlucky numbers exist? Well, let’s take a look.
One of the largest National lottery wins took place in the UK, where a couple scooped the top prize of approximately IED 64 million (£33 million). They did so by choosing the numbers 26, 27, 46, 47, 52 and 58. If you look at the history of the UK lottery, we can see that 25 and 26, 27 and 28 are the most frequent numbers most likely to be drawn in consecutive pairs – not 26 and 27. Meanwhile, the numbers 52 and 58 are numbers that have been drawn less frequently than many others. If we’re looking at lucky 7’s though, 27 and 47 are amongst the most commonly drawn numbers – which are drawn quite regularly compared to others!
In a similar vein, in 2008, the Irish Lotto record win of €18.9 million was awarded to a ticket with numbers 4, 12, 26, 27, 29 and 37 with a bonus ball 38. Not one of these numbers are commonly drawn balls.
Superstition in the West draws us to the conclusion that 7 is a lucky number – meaning that it is selected 25% more than any other lottery number. However, this number has never appeared in a major jackpot win – which goes against what we have been led to believe. More people choose a number that is less likely to win a player a million-dollar jackpot – so we recommend avoiding it.
Although every single number has exactly the same chance of being drawn, some simply appear a lot more often than others – and lucky number seven is not one of them.
The Luckiest Lottery Numbers in the World
We don’t really advise that you take ‘lucky numbers’ too seriously and they should be treated with a pinch of salt. However, here are the luckiest winning lotto ball numbers that have cropped up all over the world:
Powerball
In the Powerball draw, the most frequently drawn balls are:
- 26
- 16
- 41
- 32
- 28
In fact, 26 is so popular that it has been drawn 281 times more than 66 (the least common number) – however you need to take into account that this is because the number of balls was increased from 60 recently!
Euromillions
This is one of the biggest draws in the world and players from all across Europe go for the win. The most commonly drawn balls here are:
- 50
- 44
- 23
- 19
- 4
Megamillions
The luckiest numbers for the Megamillions lottery draw are:
- 17 and 31
- 2
- 39
- 4
- 20
It is tied for first place with both numbers having been drawn 212 times.
Irish Lotto
Over in Ireland, since it was first launched in 1988, the most commonly drawn lotto balls are:
- 2
- 32
- 9
- 7
- 10
- 18
It’s worth noting that there have been several changes since it first launched – originally as a 36-number game then being increased to 47 balls.
Looking for Patterns
There have always been people set on conquering the mystery of the lottery – and to do this, they start looking at predicting the numbers that they think will be drawn. They might look to see patterns in the numbers that are being drawn – or even creating patterns on the lottery tickets. There are all sorts of ways that players look to try to use patterns to predict the future. They read up on it and visit website after website with the hope of finding meaning in the numbers. However, to date, the code has not been cracked and it seems that no one system is any better than another – and no joy can be found in looking for, or creating patterns in the numbers. No one has yet found any way of giving themselves more chance of getting those winning lotto numbers than anybody else.
Can Psychics Predict Lottery Numbers?
There are some players that shun logic and patterns and look for spiritual and mystical guidance – using tools such as psychics, mediums, tarot cards, numerology and even horoscopes to predict the winning numbers. Sometimes people dream of the numbers they put on their lotto tickets or sometimes they even use historical lotto numbers found on a deceased relative’s ticket, trying to harness the power of the afterlife to garner some luck.
There have been numerous claims that lotto winners have dreamt their winning numbers – and that they came to them by some spiritual means… but how true this is, who knows?
The Biggest Lotto Winners in the World
Although there have been sizeable wins in the lotto in Ireland – with one winner getting a life-changing win of €44 million. However, this is peanuts compared to what other people have won from different parts of the world.
In Europe, they have the EuroMillions Lottery, which accepts players from all over Europe. This can lead to some massive wins. One example of this was a couple from the UK who won approximately €315 million (€185 million) with their winning lotto numbers. In the space of one lucky lottery draw, these winning numbers made them just as rich as the Beckhams. There seemed to be no logic, pattern or spiritual guidance to the win – just pure chance.
This win was eclipsed by another UK couple who again won the EuroMillions – this time claiming approximately €324 million (€190 million) – and their selection of numbers even included one of the least drawn EuroMillion numbers – the number 48. Their selection also included the Lucky Stars numbers 9 and 10. Whilst nine is one of the most commonly drawn numbers – 10 is one of the least commonly drawn numbers. Again, this gives credence to the claim that there is no real rhyme or reason to winning numbers. This success was matched later by a Portuguese winner – and their winning number selection included none of the most commonly drawn numbers – just a lucky day.
World Record Breakers
It is hardly surprising that despite these huge winnings in Europe, the real big world winners come from the US. The luckiest winning lotto numbers were on the ticket of one lucky US lady who managed to get her hands on the biggest single lottery win in the world – ever. Her ticket won her the equivalent of €852,491,000.00 (USD590 million). She managed to match all of her standard ticket numbers as well as the Powerball number. Again, none of these numbers were amongst the most commonly drawn numbers in the US Powerball draw. In fact, her selection even included the number 13, which is usually avoided by players for being ‘unlucky’, which pretty much dispels that myth straight away!
In 2021, although it wasn’t won by one single ticket, the US Powerball jackpot was a staggering €1.6 BILLION! This magnificent total was won by three different lotto tickets – meaning that there were three lucky beneficiaries of €327 million.
Conclusion – Can You Predict the Lottery?
Some people simply like to look for patterns and meaning by spending all their spare time trolling through previous winning numbers. However, when you look at the facts, none of these logical patterns has ever really been successful. No one has ever managed to sit down and predict next week’s winning lotto numbers. Although there are patterns less likely to be successful (i.e. linear patterns such as 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) any group of numbers seems as likely to come up as any other – and when you look at the major winning ticket numbers, most seem to simply be a mix of commonly drawn numbers and less commonly drawn numbers.
There might be some more credence given to the idea of spiritual and mystical intervention, where people have claimed that they have dreamt of the winning numbers, as more people have claimed to dream of the winning numbers than have claimed to have mathematically predicted them. But again, many cynics out there will not believe this to be possible and put it down to sheer luck.
We feel that we can also rule out the idea of ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’ numbers. For example, the number 7 is used 25% more regularly than other numbers because it is seen as lucky – but has never made up a huge winning lotto ticket. On the other hand, the number 13 has been avoided by many because of its ‘unlucky’ reputation. However, this number was a part of the biggest lotto win in the world – ever!
In our view, the only way of guaranteeing to get your hands on winning lottery numbers is simply by inventing a time machine, going into the future and bringing those numbers back with you. Until this happens, it’s unlikely that there’s any other sure-fire way to get those winning lotto numbers!
Most Common Lotto Numbers FAQs
What are the Most Common Lotto Numbers in IE?
The most commonly drawn lotto numbers in the Lotto IE are 1, which has been drawn 355 times, 22 which has been drawn 339 times, 19 which has been drawn 335 times, the not so unlucky no. 13 that has been drawn 330 times, and the no 15 that has made an appearance 330 times in total!
What are the 5 Luckiest Numbers?
This very much depends on what you consider to be lucky. Whilst some might consider the most drawn numbers to be the luckiest, some may consider the biggest winning lotto numbers in the world to be the luckiest: 04, 08, 19, 27, 34 and PowerBall 10.
Is There A Way I Can Predict the Lotto Numbers?
As much as it would be great to say yes, there is no real way to predict the lotto numbers – just hope for luck!
