11 things more likely than winning the lottery

The lottery only costs £2 and could win you millions. It might sound worth it at first... but check out this list of outrageous things that are more likely than a lottery win, and see what you think.

Credit (left): K J Payne - Flickr

The lottery has always been almost impossible to win, but since they added 10 extra numbers to the pot back in 2015, the odds got even worse.

Back when the balls went up to 49, you had about a 1 in 14 million chance of winning. But when the numbers 50–59 joined the party, your chances of winning the lottery jumped to 1 in 45 million.

A multi-million-pound jackpot may sound tempting, but if the odds and the £2 entry fee aren't enough to put you off, check out this list of completely bizarre things that are still more likely to happen.

Things with better odds than winning the lottery

These are some of the weirdest things that have a better chance of happening than you winning the lottery:

1. Dating a supermodel

   

   Credit: Elena Prozhivina – Shutterstock

   Chance of happening: 1 in 88,000

   Now, we're not saying that it's all about appearances – but it's always nice to go out with someone who's really, really, ridiculously good-looking.

   And not to get your hopes up or anything (1 in 88,000 is still ludicrously outlandish), but you're over 500 times more likely to date a supermodel than you are to win the lottery.

2. Repaying your Student Loan in full

   Chance of happening: 1 in 2

   Here at Save the Student, we're always making a point of just how unlikely you are to repay your Student Loan in full. So the fact that even we are admitting that it's more likely than winning the lottery should put your odds into perspective.

   We're exaggerating a bit here, but not that much. It's now estimated that nearly half of students on a Plan 5 loan will never pay back the full amount. In fact, only 56% are predicted to pay it back.

   While this is still about 22.5 million times more likely than winning the lottery, it's still fairly unlikely, and it's worth thinking long and hard about whether or not you should repay your Student Loan early.

3. Becoming a saint

   Chance of happening: 1 in 20 million

   Ok, Student Finance-related stats over. Now it's time to go big or go home.

   The odds of you being canonised (the official term for being made a saint by the Pope) are a massive 20 million to one, which we can all agree is pretty unachievable unless you behave like... well, a saint.

   But compare it to your odds of winning the lottery and you're still more than twice as likely to be made a saint as you are to bag the jackpot.

4. Being struck by lightning

   

   Chance of happening: 1 in 163,000

   If you knew that you were way more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery jackpot, would you still be so keen to check your numbers?

   Well, that's the reality of the situation, even with the chances of being hit by a bolt standing at a whopping 1 in 163,000. Shocking stuff, eh?

5. Winning one of our competitions

   Chance of happening: a lot more likely than winning the lottery

   We can't give you your exact odds of winning one of our amazing competitions, as it all depends on how many people enter.

   However, we can say with some confidence that fewer than 45 million people will take part in each one – so you're already more likely to win with us than on the lottery.

   And that's before you even consider that we're often running more than one competition at a time, so there are more chances to win. Make sure to keep an eye on our Instagram for exclusive competitions.

   But even if you don't win a Save the Student contest, you're not all out of luck. Our guide on how to win competitions is full of tips and tricks, including the best places to look for more prize draws – all of which are almost certainly a better use of your time than entering the lottery!

6. Being killed by a shark

   Chance of happening: 1 in 28 million

   We're often told that the fear of sharks is an irrational one, as the likelihood of getting attacked by a shark is very slim.

   Only 13 out of more than 500 species of sharks have been known to bite a human more than 10 times, and in 2024, there were only 47 shark attacks worldwide. When it comes to being killed by a shark, the odds are even less, thought to be around one in 28 million globally.

   However, you're still more likely to be killed by a shark than to win the lottery. Depressing, we know!

7. Having identical quadruplets

   

   Credit: Gelpi - Shutterstock

   Chance of happening: 1 in over 15 million

   Most of us will know a pair of twins. But fewer of us know a set of identical twins. Fewer of us still know of any triplets.

   And we'd be prepared to wager that not a single one of you has ever come across quadruplets before – let alone identical ones.

   But your odds of having your very own set of identical quadruplets are 1 in over 15 million – still around three times as likely as you winning the lottery.

   Did you know that free lotteries often give you a much higher chance of winning? Our favourites include Pick My Postcode and the Free Birthday Lottery.

8. Finding a four-leaf clover

   Chance of happening: 1 in 10,000

   If four-leaf clovers really are as lucky as they're made out to be, maybe having one will boost the likelihood of a lottery win. Sadly, though, your chances of finding this rarest of plants in the first place are a minuscule 1 in 10,000.

   That said, you're still 4,500 times more likely to chance upon a four-leaf clover than you are to win the lottery.

   Or, to put it another way, if you're considering entering the lottery or digging in the dirt for a clover, you're probably better off putting that energy towards trying to get a first.

9. Becoming an astronaut

   

   Chance of happening: 1 in 800

   Apparently, your chances of becoming an astronaut aren't one in infinite and beyond – but they're not far off.

   The acceptance rate for one astronaut position at NASA is low – 1 in 800 to be precise. If it's your dream to go into outer space, don't let this put you off. Hard work and plenty of brains could dramatically increase your graduate prospects.

   Unfortunately, no amount of hard work and brains will help you win the lottery, as it's still over 56,000 times less likely than you taking one small step for man.

10. Being crushed by a meteor

    Chance of happening: 1 in 700,000

    Meteors fall to Earth all the time. It's just that they usually burn up in the atmosphere before hitting the ground, and end up being far too small to cause anyone any harm (like in The Simpsons, when Bart spots a comet and everyone thinks it'll end the world).

    But every now and then, an absolute whopper makes its way in, and these are the ones that could crush you.

    We're not sure just how often a meteor hits a UK university campus, but worldwide, there's a 1 in 700,000 chance of being crushed by one, making it about 64 times more likely to happen than you winning the lottery. Bad times.

11. Becoming an Olympic athlete

    Chance of happening: 1 in 500,000

    When you account for the hard work, natural talent and sheer determination required to rise to the top at any given sport, it's perhaps not a huge surprise that your chances of becoming an Olympic athlete are just 1 in 500,000.

    Nonetheless, joining the Olympics is still about 90 times more likely than winning the lottery. So, hitting the university gym in search of global success is still more sensible than trying to win millions.

So, next time there's a rollover, and you think about buying four or five tickets, just remember: you're 276 times more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to win the lottery.

Now that you've saved yourself another £2 a week, see if you can hack the £10 challenge. That's right – living on just £10 for a whole week.