Lottery Glossary
Glossary of all the lottery terms you wanted to know.
A
Adjacent Numbers
Following numbers that are next to each other.
8 and 9 are adjacent numbers.
Agent
Retail outlet where one can buy lottery tickets.
Annuity
A financial instrument used by lotteries to pay out higher jackpots, akin to mortgage or a loan. Players are paid the jackpot they have won in installments over 20-25 years. Usually players can also choose to take the Cash Option (see below).
B
Bonus Number
An additional number drawn after the regular numbers are all drawn. In lottery it is used to win additional prizes.
C
Cash Option
Contrary to annuity (see above), cash option gives players a lump of cash rather than annuity; this however is usually entangled with higher taxes.
Cold Numbers
Numbers drawn least frequently during a certain period of time.
Opposite of Hot Numbers.
Combo
A method with which one places a three digit number covering all possible combinations numbers, for example: 123. Every combination of these brings about a win.
D
Daily Game
Lotteries which have at least one draw daily, sometimes two or even more. Usually state specific.
Deadline
A set date by which all winning ticket claims must be made.
Draw
The lottery results. Also used to describe the actual event in which the winning numbers are drawn.
E
Exact Order
A set of numbers which are drawn in the same order as played (also known as "Straight").
Exotic Numbers
Numbers or sets of numbers that rarely come up or are infrequently drawn.
F
Fixed Payouts
Fixed amounts of payouts set for each dollar played.
H
Hot Numbers
Numbers drawn frequently during a certain period of time.
Opposite of Cold Numbers.
I
Instant Game
Smaller lottery games which can be played and won instantly; this of course means that the payouts aren't similar to those of big lotteries.
J
Jackpot
The highest lottery prize. Jackpots are usually progressive, meaning that they roll over when they're not won, increasing their size.
L
Lucky Dip
Random selection of lottery numbers by a Random Number Generator (RNG). Good for players on the run or those who are not interested in personally picking their numbers.
M
Multi-draw
Lottery tickets which are good for multiple draws.
O
Online Lottery Ticket Agents
Similar to land-based lottery retailers, online lottery ticket agents let players buy lottery tickets from the comfort of their home with a single click of the mouse.
Overall Odds
Odds reflecting one's chance to win a lottery, calculated by the spread of the prevalence/popularity of the specific lottery.
P
Prize Pool
The total amount of prize money divided between all lottery game winners.
Q
Quick Pick
Another name for Lucky Dip.
S
Syndicates
Groups of players purchasing lottery tickets together in an organized manner in an effort to increase odds and share prizes, if and when won.
T
Ticket
The one basic thing one needs to attend a lottery. Tickets are the proof of one's attendance in the lottery, they can be bought in retail outlets or using online lottery ticket agents.
V
Virgin
A combination of numbers which has never been drawn in a specific lottery.
