Sunday nights might have many dreading the approach of another working week, but for some it’s proven to be the best day of the week, with more Set for Life division one winners crowned on this day than any other.
While a Set for Life draw is held every night of the week, research shows some days have a better track record of delivering division one wins.
Since 2015, Set for Life has crowned 63 division one winners across Australia, who have collectively taken home $302,400,000 in prize money.
Of these players, more than a quarter (27%) scored their prize of $20,000 a month for 20 years on a Sunday. While almost one-fifth (17%) of division one winners won on a Friday.
Meanwhile, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays have seen the least number of division one winners to date (Table 1).
Table 1. Set for Life division one wins by day of the week during the past five years
| Day | Percentage of division one wins |
| Sunday | 27% |
| Monday | 9.5% |
| Tuesday | 13% |
| Wednesday | 14% |
| Thursday | 9.5% |
| Friday | 17% |
| Saturday | 9.5% |
Set for Life marks its fifth anniversary this week and research also found that February has proven to be a winning month across the years. In fact, more than a fifth (21%) of Set for Life division one wins occurred in February, followed by January and August.
June and October have seen the least number of division one winners during the past five years (Table 2).
Table 2. Set for Life division one wins by month during the past five years
| Month | Percentage of division one wins |
| January | 14% |
| February | 21% |
| March | 6% |
| April | 6% |
| May | 11% |
| June | 1.5% |
| July | 6% |
| August | 14% |
| September | 5% |
| October | 1.5% |
| November | 8% |
| December | 5% |
Players from New South Wales have had the most division one success with Set for Life to date, with a quarter of all division one winners coming from that state, closely followed by Queensland and Victoria (Table 3).
Table 3. Set for Life division one wins by state during the past five years
| State | Percentage of division one wins |
| New South Wales | 25% |
| Queensland | 24% |
| Victoria | 24% |
| Western Australia | 17% |
| South Australia | 8% |
| Northern Territory | 1.5% |
| Tasmania | 0% |
| ACT | 0% |
The Lott spokesperson Ally Ramsamy said while division one wins could land anywhere and at any time, it was interesting to see trends emerging over the past five years.
“As we celebrate five years of Australia’s newest lottery game, we can’t wait to see another player join this exclusive club of Set for Life division one winners,” she said.
“Past winners have used their prizes in lots of special ways, including renovating their homes, buying new cars and boats, or booking an adrenaline pumping activity like skydiving or even shark diving.
“We have also seen a lot of players using their prizes to purchase caravans and travel around Australia.
“Only time will tell if these winning trends continue. Will our next winner score that division prize one prize on a Sunday and will they be from one of our top winning states?
“One thing is for sure, no matter who takes home that prize, they will enjoy the freedom of being truly Set for Life!”
Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, there were 14 Set for Life division one winners across Australia who will receive $67.2 million during the next 20 years.
As at 30 June 2020, $36.94 million in monthly payments of $20,000 had been paid to the 63 Set for Life division one winners across Australia.