LOTTERY
From October: How Ithuba loads the odds against Lotto players to inflate the big win
Mathematical finance academic calculates the chance of winning has plunged by about 45%
Since Ithuba Holdings increased the number of "balls" from 49 to 52 on July 30, the chance of winning the big prize in SA’s national lottery has plunged by about 45%. Cian Cullinan, who is completing a master’s in mathematical finance at the University of Cape Town and was one of the winning team members in the annual international Financial Mathematics Team Challenge in July, says the odds of winning a 49-ball Lotto game used to be one in 13,983,816. Increasing the balls to 52 results in odds of one in 20,358,520. A calculation by registered chartered statistician Anesu Kuhudzai, a statistical consultant with the University of Johannesburg, confirms that increasing the number of "balls" resulted in "a statistically significant difference" in the probability of winning the Lotto. National Lottery operator Ithuba’s spokesman, Khensani Mabuza, says that the odds of winning the jackpot have increased but the overall odds of winning any prize are down from one in 53.7 to one in 38.2. Th...
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