Superstitions vast and varied can line the choices of those who enter the lottery. Whether numbers are picked manually by an individual or selected automatically by a computer, generally they are judged for being lucky or not.

Of course, there are numbers that have been drawn more or less than others. These can be deemed 'hot' or 'cold' and might influence decisions for next numerical picks. It all comes down to luck in the end, though.

In some countries, the number 7 is often viewed as lucky, while 13 has negative connotations. In Australia, 87 is seen as unfortunate because it's 13 short of 100. In the sport of cricket, 111 is known as Nelson - and is viewed as unlucky. Of course, numbers don't go as high as 87 and 111 in lotteries, so generally it's 7 and 13 that represent good and bad numerical fortune, respectively.

For lotteries around the world, it's well worth looking at the Lottoland lucky number survey. It examines some of the most popular lotteries around the world and provides some insight into which numbers have come up more often than others in those draws.

The US Powerball, for example, has 26, 16, 41, 32, and 28 among its most frequent numbers. Interestingly, 26 has been drawn 280-plus more times than 66, which has come up the least. Part of this could be attributed to the US Powerball increasing its number of balls more than 66 being a so-called unlucky number. 

For the MegaMillions, the most common numbers drawn are 17, 31, 2, 39, 4 and 20. The first two of those numbers - 17 and 31 - had been drawn over 200 times at the time of writing.

The Irish Lotto doesn't necessarily serve up the sizeable jackpot sums that the Powerball or MegaMillions do, but it does come with its own set of frequently-drawn numbers, which are 2, 32, 9, 7, 10 and 18.

"It’s interesting to see how seven has come out as the luckiest number for Brits," said a Lottoland spokesperson.

"It is often considered lucky because it shows up so much in the order of things - seven days in a week, seven colours of the rainbow, seven wonders of the world, seven notes on a musical scale - and so on. Numbers have a strange power. They are part of almost everything we do, from marking the days and years to telling us how much money we have got in the bank.

So, it’s no wonder they've been given this enormous weight of importance in the national psyche.We know only too well that the right numbers can have a significant impact on our lives."

Indeed, it can be interesting to understand why people make the selections they do when entering the lottery with their own numbers rather than those that are auto-generated.

Some might forego the idea of 'hot' and 'cold' numbers entirely and just base their choices on anniversaries, birthdays and other milestones they have experienced. Someone born on the eighth of November in the year 1945, for example might include the digits 9, 11, 19 and 45 in their composition. The fifth and, if required, sixth number could feature two more numerical representations from their life's milestones and other memories.

Disclaimer: Customers betting with Lottoland are betting on the outcome of the Lottery and not the actual lottery itself.