Viral Video About 'White Line Theory' for Picking Lottery Tickets Triggers Debate on the Internet

Whether it's a superstition or pure luck, most people believe that the theory is just a printing issue!

PUBLISHED APR 29, 2024

Lottery isn't all about chance and some people try employing strategies that increase their odds of winning. While some people only purchase scratch-off tickets at a certain location or time, others just decide to trust their fortune. Everyone is certain that their particular approach will result in a jackpot.

One of the factors that influence how people pick tickets is the "white line theory" about scratch-off tickets is a novel concept that has recently gained traction on TikTok. Posted by @pryncsdom0 on TikTok, the theory states that tickets close to the bold white line on a roll of scratch-offs are guaranteed winners. This TikTok user broadcasts her experiences finding white-line tickets and celebrating their victories, something that has left netizens wondering if the theory works.

Videos discussing the "white line theory" have been appearing for the past several years, and for the same amount of time, people have been intrigued about it on websites like Reddit. We must respond to two questions to fully understand this theory. The first one is about the purpose of this white line, and the second is about the distribution of winning tickets in a roll.

To begin with, these white lines are a normal byproduct of printing. Bulk ticket printing requires the use of specialized plates, which are occasionally cylinder-shaped. These plates may leave a white line behind when they move to print more tickets or begin a new batch.

As for how winning tickets, they're inserted into rolls randomly, and so a winning ticket lining up with a white line seems to be just another random coincidence rather than something done by design. One person on YouTube tried to test this theory by buying a whole roll of scratch-off tickets. Out of the 10 tickets with white lines, they found that they didn't have a better chance at winning as compared to the rest of the tickets in the roll.

Another user working at a gas station shared his experience saying the white lines and numbers mean nothing!

But also another woman who worked at a gas station shared her experience saying that there is a 30% chance of winning and one of her customers has won big thanks to it.

Why do some people believe the "white line theory?"

As many Redditors have believed, it appears to come down to superstition, just like a lot of gambling-related theories.

A user described it as: "The line is just where the print ends on the page. THAT. IS. IT." The user also stated that if it was a significant issue, the large ticketing businesses for the states would have made the necessary changes long ago.

Another player related their experience, saying, "I've had no luck with white line tickets. It's just a fantasy." They also described seeing big wins at various locations across the ticket book, demonstrating that any number can win. It is all about what people think is effective.