We don't know if you've ever noticed, but the lottery - at the risk of stating the obvious - is a bit of a lottery, isn't it? The idea of a lottery number prediction program is one that's guaranteed to get some people scoffing quicker than a stoned student at an all-you-can-eat buffet. After all, this isn't like betting on horses, where there's form, conditions, jockeys and many other variables to take into account. These are random numbers.

Or are they? Well, yes they are, but the theory is that SmartLotto tries to pick up on the patterns that emerge in the numbers, to secure you a slightly higher chance of winning. It keeps a database of all the Lotto draws to date, some 1,300 of them, along with tables of statistical fluctuations. New draws can be entered as they occur, to keep the database current.

Unfortunately, the tables aren't particularly well organised - you can't click on column headings to sort the data, for example - but all the information is here. Data entry is clunky, and both the interface and presentation are a little ropey all round.

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Browsing its database, SmartLotto will tell you that the number 38 has been the most pulled ball in the numerous Lotto draws, appearing 228 times. Which is 60 more than the least pulled balls (no sniggering, please). Come to think of it, we have actually noticed the number 38 appearing quite a lot in the Lotto results we've watched. Cue X-Files music...

SmartLotto also works out the historic odd-even number split ratio, which is statistically consistent with what you'd expect, with the numbers being split 3-3, 2-4, or 4-2 over 80 percent of the time.

Naturally, the program would be nothing without predictions, and SmartLotto picks out several sets of numbers for you to spend a quid on. But these are simply the "hot" numbers - those produced the most frequently, like our friend 38 - and "cold" numbers, the least frequent ones (presumably the theory here is that these might be due to appear soon). There are a few other variants, such as "warm" numbers.

We stuck a pound on the week's hot numbers and awaited the draw with bated breath. The results? We got two numbers, so not a win but not a total miss either. Looking back at SmartLotto's track record, it certainly seems to do OK for itself; better than we ever have, at any rate.

But will it make you a millionaire? That is, of course, extremely unlikely. Although there is a two-week free trial before you have to stump up a tenner, so you can give it a whirl and try your luck gratis.

Will SmartLotto make you rich? Probably not. It's not very well presented either, and although its prediction track record isn't actually half bad, we remain unconvinced. Surely a better way to make money is by writing a lottery prediction package and selling it to the punters.