Does it pay to buy the pot in the Canadian 6/49 Lotto: implications for lottery design

Moffitt, Steven D. and Ziemba, William T. (2017) Does it pay to buy the pot in the Canadian 6/49 Lotto: implications for lottery design. Systemic Risk Centre Discussion Papers (64). Systemic Risk Centre, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

The Canadian 6/49 Lotto©, despite its unusual payout structure, is one of the few government sponsored lotteries that has the potential for a favourable strategy we call "buying the pot". By "buying the pot" we mean that a syndicate buys one of each ticket in the lottery, ensuring that it holds a jackpot winner. We assume that the other bettors independently buy small numbers of tickets. This paper presents (1) a formula for the syndicate's expected return, (2) conditions under which buying the pot produces a significant positive expected return, and (3) the implications of these findings for lottery design.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.systemicrisk.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2017 The Authors
Divisions:	Systemic Risk Centre
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G14 - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies D - Microeconomics > D4 - Market Structure and Pricing > D40 - General G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G12 - Asset Pricing; Trading volume; Bond Interest Rates
Date Deposited:	24 Mar 2017 16:28
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 04:47
Projects:	ES/K002309/1
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/70755

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