Talk:Lottery

Semi-protected edit request on 2 July 2023 - The purpose of the editing is that I want to introduce more to everyone about the special meaning of the traditional lottery associated with the historical context in Vietnam.

Change

Vietnam

In Vietnam, there are two types of lotteries: the traditional lottery, which is separated by provincial scale, and the electronic lottery (notably such as Vietlott). The Ministry of Finance manages provincial lottery companies, and these lottery companies conduct lottery draws and award the winners.

To

Vietnam

In Vietnam, there are two types of lotteries: the traditional lottery (snip link spam), which is separated by provincial scale, and the electronic lottery (notably such as Vietlott). The Ministry of Finance manages provincial lottery companies, and these lottery companies conduct lottery draws and award the winners. Xsvietnam (talk) 08:45, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

References

•  Done. Good reference addition. Made a few other copyedits at the time. Looks good. Welcome aboard! oknazevad (talk) 14:07, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

  Hi oknazevad. I am very happy that my edit is approved and can introduce everyone to the history of Vietnam lottery. However, my edit has just been deleted, can you tell me the reason and what needs to be improved to make the reference source qualified? Xsvietnam (talk) 04:25, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

  Apparently another editor assumed that since the reference article is on a commercial lottery results website it was being used as spam. @Toohool:, can you explain why you think it was spam. I examined it and believe it is a legitimate addition. oknazevad (talk) 05:10, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

  Hi @Toohool. I am very sad when my efforts to contribute were not approved and judged as spam when this is only the first time I want to spread the culture of Vietnamese lottery to the world. This is a traditional lottery website in Viet Nam (specializing in providing all data about the Vietnamese lottery) and writes articles about the special historical significance of the Vietnamese lottery, so I think it is a reliable reference source with this topic. Can you tell me where further improvement is needed for the article to be approved. Xsvietnam (talk) 06:31, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

@Oknazevad: Did you find anything to suggest that site meets the requirements of WP:RS? As far as I can see, it's a run-of-the-mill content farm built around lottery results and affiliate links. There are countless sites like this and spammers are continually trying to insert them into our articles on lotteries. Toohool (talk) 14:09, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Just a quick read of the content itself, which is a neutrally written short history. I assume good faith (you know, that core policy) that it was chosen as a source because it is a succinct secondary source. oknazevad (talk) 14:12, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

If you review the policy on reliable sources, WP:SOURCE, the key is "a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy". It has little to do with the content of the source, and everything to do with how and by whom the source is written. Random blogs and content farms, where we have no idea who even created the content, much less what their editorial process is, come nowhere close to meeting these requirements. Assuming good faith from editors who start right out of the gate with blatant spam is an utter waste of time. They never turn into good-faith editors. Toohool (talk) 19:57, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

By the way, see their global contribs. They are trying to spam the same site across Russian, French, and Vietnamese Wikipedias. Toohool (talk) 21:20, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

The rest of the site claims to be able to predict winning numbers, which are apparently related to zodiac signs. It is fairly obviously self published and has no fact checking. Clearly not a reliable source. - MrOllie (talk) 21:33, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Fair enough. oknazevad (talk) 21:35, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Classical History – False

A sentence in the Classical History section reads:

"From the Chinese Book of Songs… comes a reference to a game of chance as "the drawing of wood", which in context appears to describe the drawing of lots."

This seems false. I’ve checked the Book of Songs, and phrase "the drawing of wood" is not there. I’ve also checked similar words/phrases – and every instance of the word wood.

I’m not an experienced editor so don’t want to delete without discussion.  Any views?

The Book of Songs (Shi Jing) University of Virginia https://cti.lib.virginia.edu/shijing/AnoShih.html MarcuH (talk) 13:30, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

PS I'm also having difficulty finding evidence that the Great Wall of China was funded by lottery – so that might be a myth too. MarcuH (talk) 11:33, 29 July 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 November 2025

Please add the following new section immediately BEFORE the "== Mathematical analysis ==" section:

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Reddit is not considered a reliable source. The info about VerseLotto seems promotional and no independent source showing it is in common useage. meamemg (talk) 15:29, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

Methods of choosing lottery numbers

From a mathematical perspective, no known method of choosing numbers can improve a player's odds in a given lottery beyond simply buying more tickets or participating in group play (syndicates), where the increased chance of winning is roughly proportional to the additional cost of entry. Nonetheless, players employ a wide variety of personal and cultural practices when selecting their combinations.

A common approach is to pick “lucky” numbers, such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries or other personally significant dates. Some players also base their choices on numerology, recurring digits they notice in daily life, or patterns on the playslip. Many modern lotteries offer computer-generated selections, often called “quick picks” or “lucky dips”, in which a terminal or online system randomly chooses numbers on behalf of the player.

Beyond these mainstream practices, online forums and lottery communities document more idiosyncratic rituals. Some players report constructing their combinations from numbers seen in everyday life—such as concert posters, phone numbers in advertisements, parking space numbers, or that day's date and time—mainly as a playful way to personalise the experience, even though results remain statistically indistinguishable from other methods.

A contemporary example of a deliberately creative number-selection method is VerseLotto (often stylized as Verse Lotto), an online platform that converts short pieces of text into suggested lottery numbers. Instead of choosing numbers directly, the participant composes a phrase or verse, and the service applies a deterministic transformation to that text to generate combinations that can then be used in official lottery games. The platform presents this as a way to add personal meaning and a narrative layer to an otherwise random choice, emphasising the poetic or symbolic value of the verse even when no prize is won. Mr.utm (talk) 12:51, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

"Chance to win a prize" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Chance to win a prize has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 November 22 § Chance to win a prize until a consensus is reached. Golem08 (talk) 02:23, 22 November 2025 (UTC)

People's Postcode Lottery - Rebrand - Inaccurate name

On April 1st 2026 People's Postcode Lottery UK rebranded to Postcode Lottery (https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/landing-pages/our-new-brand-identity) this should be reflected in the United Kingdom Section which still refers to them as "People's Postcode Lottery" instead of "Postcode Lottery". They have also changed their logo to https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/f/290950848304001/300x73/21b129422b/postcode-lottery-main-logo-red.svg which could be added too.

PROPOSED CORRECTED FORMAT

Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in Great Britain.[32] The format was introduced by Dutch company Postcode Lottery Group:[33]. Players pay at minimum £12.50 monthly to play, and winning postcodes are announced daily.[34] In accordance with restrictions under the Gambling Act 2005, the maximum amount which can be won by a single ticket is £500,000, or 10% of the total draw proceeds.[35] A minimum of 30%[36] of the ticket price from players' subscriptions supports various trusts, which in turn fund local and international charities and community projects. Some £1.7 billion have been donated.[37] The lottery was the subject of two Channel 4 documentaries, The Welsh Valley That Won the Lottery, about the residents of Rhymney who won in May 2022.[39] and The Scottish Island That Won The Lottery, about the residents of North Uist who won in February 2020 [NEW CITATION]

[32] should link to https://www.sightsavers.org/how-to-help/corporate-partners/postcode-lottery/

[33] should point to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcode_Lottery_Group

[34] should point to https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/26084959.wrexham-postcode-wins-peoples-postcode-lottery-draw/

[35] should point to https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/guide/promoting-society-and-local-authority-lotteries

[36] should point to https://www.warchild.org.uk/who-we-are/our-network/trusts-and-foundations/featured/postcodelottery

[37] should point to https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/26097828.lucky-runcorn-residents-win-big-postcode-lottery-draw/

NEW CITATION https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jun/05/tv-tonight-when-a-lottery-win-transforms-an-island-community ~2026-29028-23 (talk) 13:35, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: please make your request for a new image to be uploaded at Files for upload. Once the file has been properly uploaded, feel free to reactivate this request to have the new image used. For the text changes, can you please provide formatted citations and wikitext and or use the {{textdiff}} template to show the changes. Links to other wikipedia aritlces are not appriorate for citations. meamemg (talk) 14:01, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the earlier feedback. I've addressed the self-referential citation issue: ref [33] ("Postcode Lottery Group") previously linked to the Wikipedia article of the same name, which isn't an appropriate citation as noted above. I've replaced it with an independent trade-press source (Lottery Daily) that covers the rebrand directly. I've also strengthened ref [36] (the 30% charity figure), replacing the War Child page (a funding beneficiary) with an independent Marketing Week article that states the figure directly.

Updated proposed text and reference list below, replacing the version posted on 8 July:

Proposed text:

Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in Great Britain. The format was introduced by Dutch company Postcode Lottery Group, which rebranded from "People's Postcode Lottery" to "Postcode Lottery" across its markets in early 2026. Players pay at minimum £12.50 monthly to play, and winning postcodes are announced daily. In accordance with restrictions under the Gambling Act 2005, the maximum amount which can be won by a single ticket is £500,000, or 10% of the total draw proceeds. A minimum of 30% of the ticket price from players' subscriptions supports various trusts, which in turn fund local and international charities and community projects. Some £1.7 billion has been donated. The lottery was the subject of two Channel 4 documentaries: The Welsh Valley That Won the Lottery, about the residents of Rhymney who won in May 2022, and The Scottish Island That Won the Lottery, about the residents of North Uist who won in February 2020.

Happy to make any further adjustments if needed. Thanks for taking another look.

DomGray (talk) 11:49, 30 July 2026 (UTC) DomGray (talk) 11:49, 30 July 2026 (UTC)

Proposing the following replacement for the People's Postcode Lottery paragraph in the United Kingdom section, to reflect the April 2026 rebrand to "Postcode Lottery" and to update several figures, with formatted citations.

Current text:

People's Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in the UK. The format was introduced by Dutch company Novamedia BV: players pay at minimum £10 monthly to play, and winning postcodes are announced daily. In accordance with restrictions under the Gambling Act 2005, the maximum amount which can be won by a single ticket is £500,000, or 10% of the total draw proceeds. A minimum of 33% of the ticket price from players' subscriptions supports various trusts, which in turn fund local and international charities and community projects. Some £850 million have been donated. People's Postcode Lottery has a number of celebrity ambassadors, including David Attenborough, Judi Dench, Shobna Gulati, Tim Healy, Stephen Jardine, Ellen MacArthur, Aggie MacKenzie, Carey Mulligan, John Stapleton and Emma Thompson. The lottery was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, The Welsh Valley That Won the Lottery, about the residents of Rhymney who won in May 2022.

Proposed text:

Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in Great Britain. The format was introduced by Dutch company Postcode Lottery Group. Players pay at minimum £12.50 monthly to play, and winning postcodes are announced daily. In accordance with restrictions under the Gambling Act 2005, the maximum amount which can be won by a single ticket is £500,000, or 10% of the total draw proceeds. A minimum of 30% of the ticket price from players' subscriptions supports various trusts, which in turn fund local and international charities and community projects. Some £1.7 billion has been donated. The lottery was the subject of two Channel 4 documentaries: The Welsh Valley That Won the Lottery, about the residents of Rhymney who won in May 2022, and The Scottish Island That Won the Lottery, about the residents of North Uist who won in February 2020.

References

DomGray (talk) 07:46, 8 July 2026 (UTC) DomGray (talk) 07:46, 8 July 2026 (UTC)