Bias claimed over Lotto

Amanda Cropp - 1 August 1989

THE Lotteries Commission has been accused of tacitly supporting crackpot lucky number schemes to boost the sales of Lotto tickets.

The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, also known as the Sceptics Society, says the commission is taking a stand on large-scale Lotto syndicates, but turns a blind eye to other schemes which don’t work.

Committee chairman Denis Dutton says his group is particularly concerned about the activities of the Golden Numbers organisation, which says it uses American psychic Irene Hughes to pick lucky numbers for Lotto players.

The system is being investigated by the Commerce Commission.

Dr Dutton says the Lotteries Commission does not appear to have made any public comment on systems like this, but moved swiftly to outlaw commercial Lotto syndicates proposed by Australian millionaire Stefan Mandel.

“The position of the Lotteries Commission is purely cynical. If some outfit markets a worthless Lotto system which increases the numbers of tickets purchased by

gullible punters, the commission is silent.

“But as soon as a mathematician comes along with a system that actually works, the commission starts to howl.”

Mr Mandel uses a computer to come up with all possible combinations for 25 to 35 numbers. To get around a new ban on filling out coupons by computer, people will be hired to mark the numbers by hand.

Lotteries Commission chief executive David Bale rejects Dr Dutton’s criticisms as ill-founded.

He says he assisted the Commerce Commission investigation of a group purporting to help people win at Lotto, and will continue to do so where breaches of the Fair Trading Act occur.

Mr Bale says he was not aware number selection schemes were a problem, and given the fun and entertainment side of Lotto he is reluctant to be “draconian” and tell people how they should choose their numbers.

He says it is quite inaccurate for anyone to claim a foolproof method of winning Lotto because mathematical evidence shows the numbers come up randomly.