Number 42

In Lotto under the 6/52 + 1/52 · Aug 2017 – Sep 2025 rules — 847 draws, 6 from 1–52 (an earlier era).

103times drawn · chance expected 98 +0.57σ

30draws waiting · a wait this long: 3% for any number

8.0average wait between appearances · chance says 8.7

37longest completed wait · 71% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 103 times in 847 draws against 97.7 expected, +0.57σ. Each draw is independent: after 30 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday. It has also come out as the bonus ball 12 times, counted separately.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 103 times in 847 draws · average wait 8.0 draws · longest completed wait 37 · waiting 30 draws now

a completed wait — darker is longer the wait still running — a lower bound, not a finished gap

Where it lands in a sorted draw

Sort a draw and 42 has a favourite seat — chance gives a large number the high positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest0 · chance 0.0
2nd smallest0 · chance 0.4
3rd smallest1 · chance 4.3
4th smallest20 · chance 21.0
5th smallest43 · chance 44.4
6th smallest39 · chance 32.9

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 10.1 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

26 1 40 8 2 3

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 51 numbers; chance expected about 0.0 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 42 is picked about 0.86× as often as an indifferent choice — 34th most popular of 52. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers above 31 ×0.86

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 42 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2025-06-07	18	5th	1 16 36 40 42 50
2025-04-05	15	6th	7 11 34 37 39 42
2025-02-12	2	5th	3 9 23 41 42 48
2025-02-05	1	6th

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here predicts the next draw. A number’s history is a record of a fair machine’s past, and the machine keeps none of it: 42 is drawn with probability 6/52 tonight whatever it did last week.

2023-05-20	1	6th	1 17 22 30 37 42
2023-05-17	9	5th	1 27 34 41 42 51
2023-04-15	12	6th	3 18 35 36 39 42
2023-03-04	2	5th	4 9 13 38 42 45
2023-02-25	17	6th	12 14 19 24 33 42
2022-12-28	12	5th	8 22 30 40 42 49
2022-11-16	6	5th	2 4 12 23 42 46
2022-10-26	6	5th	4 14 18 23 42 50
2022-10-05	1	6th	14 16 23 26 40 42
2022-10-01	3	6th	7 9 13 16 26 42
2022-09-21	22	6th	8 15 16 24 32 42
2022-07-06	4	6th	11 16 26 34 38 42
2022-06-22	21	5th	9 16 32 38 42 46
2022-04-09	6	5th	2 5 11 27 42 46
2022-03-19	3	5th	3 9 23 41 42 48
2022-03-09	26	6th	15 17 22 29 40 42
2021-12-04	2	5th	17 26 28 30 42 46
2021-11-27	2	6th	5 15 16 34 38 42
2021-11-20	6	6th	2 21 23 26 32 42
2021-10-30	3	5th	8 12 38 41 42 45
2021-10-20	14	5th	3 17 24 35 42 43
2021-09-01	1	6th	2 14 23 33 36 42
2021-08-28	30	5th	8 14 16 21 42 47
2021-05-15	1	6th	7 13 29 37 38 42
2021-05-12	5	6th	2 11 13 20 31 42
2021-04-24	9	5th	22 26 31 40 42 43
2021-03-24	11	4th	1 23 41 42 45 49
2021-02-13	1	6th	5 18 25 26 29 42
2021-02-10	4	6th	1 10 12 15 21 42
2021-01-27	3	6th	2 3 13 15 38 42
2021-01-16	5	4th	21 25 40 42 44 49
2020-12-30	6	6th	2 10 19 36 38 42
2020-12-09	6	4th	21 30 32 42 44 48
2020-11-18	8	5th	1 8 20 27 42 44
2020-10-21	3	4th	10 29 36 42 43 51
2020-10-10	1	5th	2 22 33 41 42 48
2020-10-07	1	5th	1 16 22 26 42 45
2020-10-03	2	5th	3 23 26 27 42 51
2020-09-26	11	6th	3 7 18 21 27 42
2020-08-19	9	5th	1 7 26 27 42 49
2020-07-18	4	6th	3 17 30 32 36 42
2020-07-04	11	4th	8 14 15 42 44 51
2020-05-27	14	6th	3 9 15 24 39 42
2020-04-08	2	5th	2 8 18 29 42 43
2020-04-01	2	4th	7 15 32 42 45 51
2020-03-25	2	5th	10 13 19 25 42 47
2020-03-18	11	3rd	7 37 42 45 48 50
2020-02-08	2	5th	3 28 37 41 42 51
2020-02-01	5	5th	1 13 16 25 42 47
2020-01-15	4	6th	6 25 31 36 41 42
2020-01-01	1	5th	4 5 24 40 42 47
2019-12-28	25	6th	4 8 11 16 29 42
2019-09-28	7	5th	3 17 24 28 42 46
2019-09-04	2	5th	1 14 21 40 42 44
2019-08-28	13	4th	6 13 14 42 43 51
2019-07-13	5	5th	6 17 22 26 42 43
2019-06-26	16	5th	10 14 26 37 42 44
2019-05-01	4	5th	2 6 10 30 42 45
2019-04-17	8	4th	1 19 38 42 50 51
2019-03-20	37	4th	12 35 37 42 47 50
2018-11-10	1	6th	5 8 9 33 41 42
2018-11-07	11	5th	2 8 29 35 42 47
2018-09-29	16	5th	20 23 26 41 42 51
2018-08-04	6	6th	2 14 21 28 36 42
2018-07-14	2	6th	4 8 13 18 30 42
2018-07-07	2	6th	6 16 27 28 34 42
2018-06-30	2	4th	12 17 29 42 43 44
2018-06-23	3	6th	1 10 13 35 41 42
2018-06-13	25	4th	19 35 36 42 45 47
2018-03-17	4	5th	6 21 26 40 42 44
2018-03-03	9	6th	8 19 22 36 40 42
2018-01-31	10	6th	18 19 26 34 40 42
2017-12-27	3	4th	3 10 20 42 48 49
2017-12-16	9	6th	2 11 17 18 22 42
2017-11-15	4	5th	2 22 36 37 42 49
2017-11-01	6	4th	3 12 28 42 43 47
2017-10-11	12	5th	5 15 24 28 42 49
2017-08-30	3	6th	10 32 33 35 39 42
2017-08-19	—	4th	13 23 33 42 47 51