The seven tricks of Lady Luck

A look back at 2022's Lotto: what was going on with the numbers 2, 9, 37 and 40... as well as prime numbers.

"We're now starting the draw..." That was the opening line that was said a total of 114 times last year, following by a total of 684 Lotto balls rolling out of the draw hopper, resulting in 114 different combinations of six numbers. Some notable details:

- 37 was the most frequently drawn number; it was part of the six winning numbers 26 times;
- 9 came up the least often, in only eight draws;
- The thirties and forties were at the top: each number in these ranges was drawn an average of 16.5 times;
- Numbers ending with a one brought up the rear with an average draw frequency of 12.8.

Lady Luck sure had a lot of ideas to make the lottery year more varied and interesting. Seven "tricks" stuck out to us:

1.    On November 13, the six correct picks consisted exclusively of prime numbers – for the first time in Lotto history.
2.    At the end of October/beginning of November, the number 2 was on a roll: it was drawn no less than four times in a row.
3.    At the beginning of the year, the number 33 seemed to be way out of favour: it didn't make a single appearance for 40 rounds before it was finally drawn again on March 9, for the first time since the end of October the previous year.
4.    On August 14 and 21, the six winning numbers consisted entirely of even numbers.
5.    April 6 saw the appearance of a rare "quadruplet": 41, 42, 43 and 44.
6.    On March 23, three numbers emerged from the hopper that had also appeared in the previous draw.
7.    On March 9, the six winning numbers consisted exclusively of the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.

"Spread the wealth" was one way to describe the overall balance of millionaires across the country at the end of the year. The 36 Lotto freshly minted millionaires featured at least one from each federal state.