For as long as the lottery has existed, people have been trying to game the system to have it work out in their favor. From gambling on their lucky numbers to buying scratch-off tickets from certain places and certain times, to more involved measures, most frequent lottery players have their own method of play that they’re convinced will earn them a hefty payday.
A recent trick that is making its way through TikTok is the “white line theory” of scratch-off lottery tickets.
The Daily Dot has previously covered this theory and its main proponent on TikTok, @pryncsdom0. The theory states that tickets on a roll of scratch-offs that are on or near the bold white line are guaranteed to be winners.
True or not, the TikTok user seems committed to the idea, showing off her own journeys trying to buy white-line tickets and documenting her wins along the way.
But does this theory actually work?
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To start, this trick is not new. Videos referencing the idea have been around for at least seven years, and on forums like Reddit, users have been asking questions about the “white line theory” for about just as long.
To examine this theory, two questions must be answered: 1) What is the white line? And 2) how are winning tickets distributed in a roll of scratch-off tickets?
Concerning the former, these lines occur as a natural part of the printing process. While there are a few ways tickets can be printed, they are generally printed en masse using special plates, which are sometimes shaped cylindrically. When the plate rolls over to print new tickets, or when it is moved to print a new batch, it can leave a white line.
Regarding the latter, winning tickets are randomly distributed throughout a roll. This means that the chances of a winning ticket lining up with a white line appear to be just as random as the winning ticket lining up with any other feature of a scratch-off lottery ticket.
One user on YouTube attempted to debunk this theory by purchasing a full roll of scratch-off lottery tickets. The roll has 10 tickets with white bars, and the YouTuber found that these tickets have no greater chance of winning than any of the other tickets in the roll.
Why do some people think the “white line theory” has validity? Like many things related to gambling, it appears to simply be superstition, as many Redditors have pointed out.
“The line is just the end of the print on the page. THAT. IS. IT,” wrote a user. “If it mattered, which it never has, the 3 companies that make tickets for the states (IGT, Scientific Games and Pollard Banknote) would have changed that a long time ago after State lottery commissions picked up on this stupid theory lol.”
“Lost on plenty of white line tickets. That one’s a fantasy,” stated another. “I’ve seen larger winners at both the beginning and end of books. My largest was in the middle. Any number can be a winner. It’s all people believing whatever has worked for them in the past.”
While many may have been skeptical and questioning the TikToker’s tactic, she made sure to tell them it wasn’t in vain.
“I won,” she wrote in a comment.
The Daily Dot reached out to @pryncsdom0 via TikTok direct message and YouTuber Phileas Foggs via email.
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