€23,000: man wins two VAT lotteries in a week

A man from Guardamangia scooped €23,000 in the past week after winning the top prize in the VAT receipt lottery twice in the space of a few days. The 30-year-old twice won €11,647 – the biggest prize on offer – because the value of his two receipts (€228 and €229 respectively) were the highest among those drawn. With an average of three million receipts being drawn from each time, the chances of such a double win are extremely slim. Held once a month, the VAT Lottery attracts thousands of hopefuls to send in millions of receipts. According to statistician Silvan Zammit, who was asked by The Sunday Times of Malta to work the odds of this feat, even if the punter in question submitted as many as 10,000 receipts, which is highly unlikely, his chances of winning twice in the same draw are a mere 0.005 per cent. If he submitted a more realistic 1,000 receipts, the chances of a double draw happening go down to 0.000006 per cent. The calculation was made on the basis of an estimated 2.8 million receipts that were drawn from in the June draw. Prospects are ‘very unlikely’ The receipts are not actually counted but are weighed and the number of receipts is extrapolated the basis of a kilo...