Michigan Lottery drawings,
winners truly are random

by Tom Weber, Acting Lottery Commissioner

Among the questions we get frequently at the Lottery are those related to the randomness of the drawings and, in the case of instant games, the location of winning tickets.

Let me assure you that winners of all Michigan Lottery games are selected in completely random processes. These random processes for picking prizewinners are reviewed, observed and certified by independent, third-party auditors whose only concern, like the Michigan Lottery itself, is the conduct of fair and impartial drawings.

Classic Lotto 47, Fantasy 5 and Keno winning numbers are drawn by a computer system known as a Random Number Generator. This system, which the Lottery has used for many games since October 2002, is the only mechanism by which winning numbers for those games are drawn.

The Random Number Generator greatly reduces the chance of human error in a drawing. It is very quick to execute, which enables us to include numbers for all games during our 60-second televised drawing broadcasts each evening.

Winning numbers for the Daily 3 and Daily 4 games, both the midday and evening versions, are selected using numbered pong balls in a more traditional style of drawing. Depending on the game, three or four of the balls are randomly forced into a chute and they represent the winning numbers for that drawing.

The numbered ball method of drawing was retained for Daily games, which are among the Lottery’s oldest games, after surveys of players indicated that was their preference. Mega Millions, the multi-state game in which Michigan participates, is also drawn with numbered balls.

It is important to note that the location where a particular ticket is sold has no bearing whatsoever in determining whether that ticket wins a prize or not. The Lottery cannot pick winners from specific cities or regions of the state.

All Lottery drawings are conducted by a lottery-drawing manager and witnessed by a third-party auditor. The equipment used to select the winning numbers is tested each time it is used.

Ball sets are replaced on a continually rotating basis. Although the Mega Millions drawings are conducted in a television studio in Atlanta, Georgia, all of Michigan’s online game numbers are drawn at the television studio of WDIV in Detroit.

When the Lottery conducts a live drawing at a public venue, such as a $2 million drawing at a Detroit Pistons game, we use a prize wheel that has equal numbers of five different colored panels on it.

The wheel has been warranted by the manufacturer and it is kept in a locked case prior to the drawing and is never removed from the case without a Lottery official being present. In addition, the wheel is tested before each drawing to ensure that it has an equal chance of stopping on any one of the five colors.

All that said, it is important to note that because random activities are not controlled, it is possible that repeat incidences will occur on rare occasions.

For example, the same numbers have come up in the Daily 3 and Daily 4 drawings, and multiple players have purchased Mega Millions tickets with the same easy pick numbers, making them all $250,000 winners. Likewise, the prize wheel has landed on the same color more than once.

In the case of the Michigan Lottery, the element of chance, or randomness, is what our business is all about.

All proceeds from the Lottery are contributed to the state School Aid Fund which supports kindergarten through 12th grade public education in Michigan. In fiscal year 2006, the contribution was $688 million. For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.

* Tom Weber, commissioner of marketing at the Michigan Lottery, has been named acting Lottery commissioner by Governor Granholm. Weber has held the deputy commissioner position since January 2001. He joined the Lottery in 1993 as instant games product manager, overseeing the production and launch of over 300 instant Lottery games.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.