Pick My Number: Lotto Machines

Press start. The blower kicks in, the balls start to fly, and one by one they get pulled up the tube.

Pick My Number rebuilds the draw machines that countries actually use — and they are not the same machine.

■ Korea — air mix
A round glass chamber with air pushed up from below. The balls are grouped into five colours by number range, exactly as they are on the real thing. A drum ring at the top catches them one at a time.

■ Japan — centrifuge
A fast spin pushes the balls round the chamber wall and mixes them.

■ United Kingdom, Hong Kong, United States — gravity mix
Paddles turn against each other and gravity does the rest.

■ What you actually see
Forty-five balls moving at once, each one lit like a real sphere. The chamber, the blower housing, the extraction tube and the result tray are all there. Every number that lands makes a sound and a small burst.

■ Watch it, or hurry it
A full draw takes about ten seconds. Hold the screen if you want it faster.

Numbers are produced by a cryptographic random generator, so every ball has the same chance every time.

This app is a draw machine for entertainment. It is not connected to any lottery operator and does not predict or improve any outcome.

Recent changes:
A fresh look for the draw machines.
- A spotlit stage, a glass chamber with reflections and a metal stand
- See the airflow in the air-mix machine, spinning paddles in paddle machines, and the spin in the centrifuge
- Fast balls leave a trail, and each ball glows as it lands in the tray
- The button fills up as the draw goes on
- The machine picker is now picture cards, with the Europe machine added
- A privacy policy link is now in Settings