This woman won the lottery twice. It’s happened more than you think.

Matt Davison, an expert in probability theory, explains why he isn't so surprised some people win big lotto prizes multiple times.

Winning the lotto jackpot is rare, but luck has struck more than once for some people.

Trang Pham is among the latest winners who have won substantial prizes repeatedly. The woman from Mississauga, Ont., took home $12 million after splitting the $60-million Lotto Max with four of her colleagues in January and recently collected $250,000 from playing the Instant Golden Multiplier game.

“It feels like I was struck by lightning twice in one year,” Pham said in a news release. ”You have to give yourself a smack just to make sure it’s real.”

What are the odds of multiple wins?

A Cape Breton couple is also part of the small club of repeat winners of big prizes. Raymond and Gaye Lillington of Dingwall, N.S., won $17.4 million in 2020 from Lotto 6/49 after winning $3.2 million in 2013.

Jason Brown, a professor of mathematics and statistics at Halifax’s Dalhousie University, previously told CTV News Atlantic in 2020 that based on his calculations, the chance of winning the Lotto 6/49 jackpot twice in seven years is about four in 10 billion for a person who buys a ticket each week. Brown confirmed to CTVNews.ca on Friday that he believes his calculations are still accurate.

Michael Wallace, associate professor in the department of statistics and actuarial science at the University of Waterloo, told CTVNews.ca earlier this year that the odds of winning even one of the big prizes are “small” regardless of which numbers, games or strategies you choose.

“I would always say, if you’re going to play a lottery like this, play it for fun,” Wallace said. “Don’t play it expecting to win one of those really big prizes. You might, but it’s very, very unlikely.”

While the odds of a repeat lotto windfall are small, Matt Davison, a professor at Western University’s Department of Statistical and Actuarial Science and the Department of Mathematics in London, Ont., says when you consider that millions of Canadians play the lottery regularly, it’s not that surprising.

Davison said he believes there isn’t anything suspicious about people winning the lotto repeatedly.

“For someone to win a jackpot twice in their life, it’s still extremely unlikely for that one individual person,” Davison, an expert in probability theory, said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Friday. “But when you multiply that tiny probability by the large number of people who play the lottery every week, and the large number of weeks that there are in someone’s life, the unlikely becomes possible ... I think that’s really the explanation here.”

Emily Olsen, spokesperson for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday that the odds of one player winning two prizes of $1 million or more is “extremely rare” but multiple wins are a “well-known phenomenon” all over the world.

“However, each purchase of a lottery ticket is a separate, unrelated event, and each ticket has the same odds of winning as any other ticket for a particular game, at the time of printing,” she wrote.

“Since wins occur randomly – without a pattern and by chance – multiple wins are entirely possible and do happen.”

Olsen said WCLC does a “thorough prize review on every claim” to ensure no unusual activity has occurred.

“WCLC and its member organizations are committed to ensuring the right prize is paid to the right player,” she wrote.

Despite the slim odds, here are some of the people who have repeatedly won big lotto prizes in Canada:

Alberta man is lucky four times

David Serkin of Lethbridge, Alta., has been lucky four times. He most recently won $1 million from the Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw on May 3. Last year, he brought home $500,000 from the Lotto Max draw on Aug. 20 and $1 million from the Lotto 6/49 draw on Nov. 16. He first won $250,000 from playing the lotto 12 years ago.

In his case, Olsen of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation said he has been buying lottery tickets regularly since the 1980s.

“WCLC’s review concluded that this player legitimately purchased his winning tickets -- four months apart and at different retail locations,” she said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday.

Alberta man scores $300K in one year

James Hill of Lethbridge, Alta., won twice this year alone: $200,000 on a $10 scratch ticket he bought in February, and $100,000 on a Poker Lotto scratch ticket from May.

Ontario man scores two big wins in under a month

Ryaan Othman of Brampton, Ont., won $1 million in Encore for the Lotto Max draw in January 2023. Three weeks earlier on Dec. 28, 2022, he collected $180,000 playing Lotto Max.

“I knew the odds of this happening were slim, but for it to happen twice is out of this world!” he said at the time.

Quebec woman lucky in one week

Sylvie Bertrand of Outaouais, Que., won $132,000 in total as reported in February. She took home $32,000 through the game show La Poule aux oeufs d’or on Jan. 26, and a house prize of $100,000 from a La Poule aux oeufs d’or ticket online in February.

Risk of gambling addiction 

Despite the possibility of a windfall, Wallace said playing the lotto can become a problem if losing has a negative effect on you and if you can’t afford the habit.

“I think for most players, they play with a reasonable understanding that they’re probably not going to win that life-changing sum of money, but it’s fun to buy a ticket and at least dream for a few days,” he told CTVNews.ca earlier this year.

Responsible Gambling Council of Canada and OLG’s PlaySmart program on its website and in casinos offer resources for help with addiction.

With files from CTV News Atlantic, CTV News Calgary’s Melissa Gilligan, CTV News Toronto’s Laura Sebben and Alex Arsenych, and CTV News Montreal’s Joe Lofaro