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Same Winning Numbers Twice? 8 Archives Checked
See whether lottery numbers were drawn twice in real Canadian archives, and compare the repeats found with the exact chance of a repeat when every draw is fair.
8 games, 113,144 draws. With fair draws about 4.1 such repeats are expected – almost all of them in the games with few possible combinations.
Every game we have: a repeat of the full winning numbers
| Game | Repeats found | Repeats expected | Chance of at least one repeat | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lotto Max | 0 | 0.004 | 0.41% | 1,283 |
| Lotto 6/49 | 0 | 0.12 | 11.6% | 1,861 |
| Daily Grand | 0 | 0.29 | 25.0% | 1,047 |
| Québec Max | 0 | 0.003 | 0.33% | 1,123 |
| Québec 49 | 1 | 0.12 | 11.6% | 1,861 |
| Tout ou rien | 5 | 3.5 | 97.1% | 4,368 |
| Banco | 0 | less than 0.001 | 1 in 7.6 billion | 6,514 |
| Keno (WCLC) | 0 | less than 0.001 | 1 in 782 million | 95,087 |
Main numbers only (bonus numbers are not compared). Draws are compared only with draws of the same drum: when a game changed its numbers, each set of rules counts on its own.
Unofficial: a copy of published results – verify with the official source. Official source: wclc.com, lotoquebec.com.
Snapshot of our saved copy: every game up to its newest saved draw (Oct 29, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026).
One game in detail
Lotto 6/49
6 of 49, 1,861 draws Jan 3, 2009 – Oct 31, 2026
- Possible combinations13,983,816
- Chance of at least one repeat11.6%
- Repeats expected0.12
- Repeats found0
One new draw matching one given earlier draw: 1 in 13,983,816. A repeat somewhere is far likelier because every pair of draws is a chance: 1,730,730 pairs.
Numbers shared by two draws
Every pair of these draws: 1,730,730 pairs.
| Numbers shared | Pairs expected | Pairs found | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 6 | 754,538 | 754,342 | |
| 1 of 6 | 714,825 | 715,476 | |
| 2 of 6 | 229,111 | 228,710 | |
| 3 of 6 | 30,548 | 30,512 | |
| 4 of 6 | 1,676 | 1,660 | |
| 5 of 6 | 32 | 30 | |
| 6 of 6 | 0.12 | 0 |
- chance alone (exact)
Most numbers shared: 5 of 6, by 30 pairs; with fair draws about 32 pairs share that many or more. For example Aug 26, 2009 and Sep 2, 2009.
Unofficial: a copy of published results – verify with the official source. Official source: wclc.com, lotoquebec.com. Copy updated Nov 2, 2026
Draws up to the end of last year come from the yearly archives of Loto-Québec; newer draws from the WCLC results pages, checked against Loto-Québec.
A repeat says nothing about the next draw: an old winning combination has the same chance as any other.
How the birthday problem works
- One old draw, one newA new draw matching one given earlier draw is very rare. In Lotto 6/49 the odds are 1 in 13,983,816.
- Every pair of draws countsA repeat means any two draws in the archive match. Many draws make very many pairs, and each pair is one chance.
- The chance grows fastThe chance of some repeat grows much faster than the number of draws. This is the birthday problem.
- Fewer combinations, more repeatsA game with fewer possible combinations is likely to repeat after fewer draws.
Why a repeat comes sooner than you think
| Game | Chance of at least one repeat | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tout ou rien | 97.1% | Expected: about 3.5 repeats with fair draws |
| Daily Grand | 25.0% | Possible; counts the five main numbers only |
| Lotto 6/49 | 11.6% | Possible, but less likely than not |
| WCLC Keno | 1 in 782,024,804 | Practically never, even with many draws |
Each chance is for the number of draws in our saved archive of that game, with fair draws. The tool above shows all games.
What our archives found
Found in our archives
- Games checked: 8
- Saved draws: 113,144
- Identical pairs of full draws: 6
- Québec 49: 1
- Tout ou rien: 5
Expected with fair draws
- Identical pairs expected: 4.1
- Tout ou rien alone: about 3.5
- Found and expected are close – what chance predicts
- A repeat alone is not a sign of a problem
More checks on real draws
Birthday problem calculator
Enter your own number of draws and combinations. This page checks real archives instead.
Hot and cold numbers
Why numbers drawn often or rarely in the past say nothing about the next draw.
Is a number overdue?
Test the idea that a number not drawn for a while must come up soon.
Québec 49 number frequency
How often each number came up, tested against fair draws.
Tout ou rien number frequency
Past results of the game with the most repeats, tested against fair draws.
Sources
- OLG – Lotto Max Game Conditions · checked Nov 2, 2026
- Loto-Québec – Règles des loteries · checked Nov 2, 2026
- WCLC – Legal · checked Nov 2, 2026
- Loto-Québec – Conditions of use · checked Nov 2, 2026
- OLG – Lotto 6/49 Game Conditions · checked Nov 2, 2026
- OLG – Conditions de jeu du Lotto 6/49 · checked Nov 2, 2026
- WCLC – Lotto 6/49 Game Conditions, revision 2022-02-23 · checked Nov 2, 2026
- OLG – Daily Grand Game Conditions · checked Nov 2, 2026
- WCLC – KENO Game Conditions and Prize Structure Statement (2016) · checked Nov 2, 2026
- WCLC – KENO page · checked Nov 2, 2026
Questions
Have the same lottery numbers ever been drawn twice?
Yes. In our saved archives of 8 Canadian games we found 6 identical pairs of full draws, among them 1 in Québec 49 and 5 in Tout ou rien. The tool above shows them.
What are the odds of the same numbers coming up twice?
It depends on the game and the number of draws. Over our saved archives, the chance of at least one repeat is 11.6% for Lotto 6/49 and 97.1% for Tout ou rien.
Does a combination that already won have a different chance next time?
No. A past win does not change the next draw. Every combination has the same chance, one that already won included. Choosing or avoiding past winning numbers makes no difference to the odds.
Does a repeated draw mean the lottery is rigged?
A repeat alone is not a sign of a problem. With fair draws about 4.1 identical pairs are expected over our archives, and 6 were found. Games with few combinations repeat by chance.