Mexican National Lottery

The Mexican National Lottery (from here on lottery for short) is a left-over institution from the days fo the Spanish conquista. I hear Spain ahs a similar lottery.

The tickets are already printed. I'm unsure about the numbering range, but there are 50,000 numbers all told. Each number is printed on 60 tickets, which are sold in three series of 20 tickets each. For example, the number 20153 has an A series, a B series and a C series, each containign 20 tickets all with the number 20153 1/20, 20153 2/20.... 20153 20/20.

Clear?

Ok. The prize amounts for the jackpot are given per the entirety of series. Example, 30 million pesos in three series. Meaning each series can win up to ten million pesos, and each ticket half a million pesos (the prize amounts are by way of example only).

Still clear?

Now, let's say the individual ticket price is 10 pesos. That makes 200 pesos per series and 600 for all series.

If someone has 600 pesos to spend on the lottery, he has choices to make. He can maximize his chances by buying 60 different numbers, but of course this minimizes the prize (if any). He can maximize the prize (if any) and minimize his chances by buying the full three sereis for one number. he can strike a balance between the two any number of ways, for example by buying a full sereis each of three different numbers.

Agreed so far? Good.

Now suppose you only have 100 pesos, but you know 5 other people who also have 100 pesos to spend on the lottery. What do all six of you do?

You have the same options as one person with 600. Exactly the same.

So what would most Mexicans do? They'd pool their 600 pesos and buy the full series, for absolutely NO advantage at all.

If you play your 100 by yourself on one number, you get 10 tickets and a maximum prize of 5 million pesos. if you go in the pool with everyone, you divide 30 million pesos into six for a total of 5 million pesos each. taxes would eb the same in each case. the only difference is that you have to deal with five other people.

I swear this is how most mexicans I know play the lottery when they pool money. Now, one chance in 50,000 is not much different from 10 chances in 50,000 in an absolute sense. So I see nothing wrong in choosing max prize for minimal chances. In a relative sense the difference is ten-fold, so I also see nothing wrong in picking in max chances for minimial prize, nor with any in-between alternative.

But pooling your money with 5 people in order to get the same prize for the same chance you could playing by yourself, that's absurd! In fact it's risky. Why if whoever cashes the prize runs away witht he money? What if he overstates the tax and pays less to each of the other five?

Why do people do such things' I've no asnwer. But they do "feel" it's better that way.

Maybe it is partly about wanting to share any good fortune that might come their way?

Quote: Nareed

I hear Spain has a similar lottery.

Spain has
(1) Loterías y Apuestas del Estado,
(2) EuroMillions
(3) Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España which runs a charity lottery since 1938.

The prizes in EuroMillions are so large that probably more people are buying those tickets. On 8 May 2009 a 25 year old Spanish woman won Euro-126 million in EuroMillions (the largest jackpot awarded to a single winner).

Quote: Brad

Maybe it is partly about wanting to share any good fortune that might come their way?

I don't think so. At least I never heard anything about that.

There's a superstition that if you don't tip the ticket seller when you win the jackpot, you won't ever win it again. As superstitions go, this is about the most senseless one.