What is drawn?
Each UK49s draw picks six main numbers from 1 to 49, followed by a seventh number, the booster ball. There are two draws a day, known as Lunchtime and Teatime. The draws are run in the UK for the betting shops there; South African bookmakers take bets on the published results.
Why is it a fixed-odds bet and not a lottery?
In a lottery, ticket money goes into a prize pool shared by the winners. In UK49s betting, you choose how many numbers to bet on and your stake, and the bookmaker offers fixed odds for that bet. If your numbers come up, you are paid at those odds, whatever anyone else picked. There is no jackpot to roll over and no sharing. The odds are set by each bookmaker, so the same bet can pay differently at different sites.
How do the bets work?
You choose how many numbers to pick — commonly from one to five — and whether the booster counts. All your numbers must appear in the draw for the bet to win.
| Numbers picked | Chance all appear in six drawn (booster excluded) |
|---|---|
| 1 | about 1 in 8.2 |
| 2 | about 1 in 78 |
| 3 | about 1 in 921 |
| 4 | about 1 in 14,125 |
| 5 | about 1 in 317,814 |
These are the exact combinatorial chances for six numbers drawn from 49. Including the booster as a seventh possible match makes each bet a little easier and is priced with lower odds. Compare the odds offered by your bookmaker with these chances: the gap between the true chance and the payout is the bookmaker's margin.
Why do more numbers pay so much more?
Because each extra number makes the bet far less likely, as the table shows. The odds rise steeply to match. A five-number bet pays a large multiple of the stake because it wins only a tiny fraction of the time. Over many bets, the bookmaker's margin applies to every one of them, whichever size you choose.
Do "hot" and "cold" numbers help?
No. Lists of numbers that have come up most often recently, or not for a long time, are popular on social media. Each draw is independent of the last: the machine does not remember previous results. A number that has not appeared for weeks is no more likely to appear today. The same applies to "predictions" and paid tips. Our guide to keno, a similar numbers game, explains the same principle with the casino version.
What are combination bets?
Some bookmakers let you choose more numbers than the bet size and bet on every combination. For example, picking five numbers as "all pairs" creates ten two-number bets. Each combination is a separate bet with its own stake, so the total cost is the number of combinations times your stake. It is the same multiplication as in a soccer jackpot perm or a Pick 6.
How do I keep UK49s in proportion?
- Two draws a day is a lot. Fourteen draws a week adds up fast. Decide a weekly amount, not a daily one.
- Do not chase. Raising the stake after a loss to "win it back" is the pattern that turns a small hobby into a problem.
- Use the limits your account offers. Most sites have deposit limits and time-outs; see our responsible gambling page.
Quick answers
Can I bet on both draws at once?
Many bookmakers let you place the same numbers on both Lunchtime and Teatime, as two separate bets.
Where do I check results?
Your bookmaker publishes the results it settles on. Settlement is by the official draw result.
Is UK49s rigged?
The draws are run for the UK betting industry and are independently overseen. The house edge comes from the odds offered, not from the draw.