In this guide, our Playright.co.uk experts will tell you everything you need to know about the national U.K. lottery and how you can play on other lotteries in the U.K. and worldwide. Read on to find out about the unique nature of the lottery and how it has become part of the fabric of the U.K., where people wait expectedly each draw to see if their lottery numbers come up.
The U.K. National Lottery
One of the most famous lotteries globally, The National Lottery is a U.K. gambling game that has created multi-millionaires and big money winners for decades. First launched on November 14, 1994, the National Lottery is a beloved game in the U.K., becoming a part of the country’s culture. Most households play the lottery, and over £76 billion in prizes have been awarded.
Despite its success as a gambling game, the national U.K. lottery has also become a notable supporter of good causes. Since its inception, more than £42 billion has been raised for good causes through the lottery. This makes it something of a unique game that the public embraces. It is supported by the government and valuable to charities.
Our PlayRight.co.uk team looks at what the U.K. National Lottery is all about:
The Basics
While it started as a single-draw game, the National Lottery has expanded to offer a range of different lottery numbers games and scratchcards. For example, the main lottery draw (Lotto), EuroMillions, and Thunderball. As technology has evolved, instant win online lottery games have been added that offer prize funds of between 25p and £10.
Since embracing the internet, U.K. lottery online games have become popular. Gamblers can visit the online U.K. National Lottery site and play games, buy tickets, and check their lottery numbers. Another interesting concept that has evolved is the betting lottery results, where the top U.K. bookmakers such as Bet365 and Paddy Power allow you to bet online on lottery results.
Prices for National Lottery tickets range from £1 to £5 depending on the game. The most popular product from the national U.K. lottery is the main Lotto draw. Winners of this game and EuroMillions often become multi-millionaires. It’s that ability to be life-changing in an instant that makes the lottery so popular in the U.K.
Where Does National Lottery Money Go?
It’s easy to think that most of the money from games goes to winners who get lucky with their lottery numbers, while the rest is profit for Camelot, the company that operates the game. However, that’s not the case because the National Lottery is closely linked to good causes in the United Kingdom. One of the regulatory conditions of allowing a lottery game is that it is also for the greater good.
For every £1 spent by the public on an online lottery or land-based lottery ticket, here is what happens to the money:
- 55p to winners in the form of lottery prizes.
- 23p paid directly to good causes and charities.
- 12p to the government in the form of the lottery duty tax.
- 4p to National Lottery retailers.
- 6p to the operator for upkeep costs and returns to shareholders.
Making millionaires and giving to good causes makes up the bulk of the money earned from ticket sales. Since launched in 1994, the National Lottery has created over 5,700 millionaires and awarded grants to over £565,000,000 to good causes.
Who Runs and Regulates the National U.K. Lottery?
Ensuring the upkeep of the National Lottery is a collaboration between the government and the private sector. There are four parties involved in running and maintaining the U.K. National Lottery. They are:
- Operator: Camelot is the company in charge of the day-to-day running of the lottery.
- Government: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
- Regulator: The National Lottery is regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), ensuring the game remains fair to players.
- Distribution Bodies: Are special funds that manage the allocation of lottery funds. These include the National Lottery Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.
Charitable Support
Part of the regulatory condition to allow a lottery in the U.K. is to provide for good causes and support community endeavours. Money generated through national U.K. lottery ticket sales goes directly into funding projects as diverse as sports, the arts, community projects, charitable donations, and heritage work.
Furthermore, the National Lottery is playing an increasingly active role in funding projects focused on health, education, and environmental change. All good-cause payments are sent from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, who oversees the fund.
How Does the National Lottery Work?
Playing the National Lottery has become a ritual for many millions of people in the U.K. The main Lotto draw is a lottery numbers game where players choose six numbers between 1 and 59. Alternatively, players can choose the “Lucky Dip” option, where lottery machines choose six random lottery numbers.
Prizes are awarded for matching numbers from three numbers and up. If you match all six numbers, you win the top prize (usually millions of pounds). Draws are conducted two times each week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
Where to buy tickets
National Lottery tickets have always been available from retailers through the United Kingdom. Stores that sell lottery tickets will have a sign outside with the crossed fingers logo of the National Lottery. There are 45,000 lottery retailers in the U.K.
Tickets cost £1 for nearly two decades until 2013 when the price was increased to £2. Modern technology means lottery tickets can also be sold at the official online Lottery website. Customers can use P.C., tablet, or purchase through a dedicated app on mobile to access the U.K. lottery online.
U.K. Lottery History
The National Lottery has a storied past that stretches back over a quarter of a century. It has become a part of daily life in the U.K. and has passed numerous milestones over the years. Lottery history has many significant events along the way, so here’s a timeline of National Lottery history:
- May 25, 1994: The Camelot Group wins the franchise rights to The National Lottery from the government.
- November 19, 1994: BBC One broadcasts the first-ever National Lottery draw. The company remained the broadcaster of the draw until 2017. Since then, live draws are shown exclusively through online lottery streams, although ITV shows The National Lottery Lotto Results during commercial breaks on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
- March 21, 1995: Camelot expands The National Lottery and starts selling Scratchcards at lottery retailers.
- February 5, 1997: Another expansion sees the Wednesday draw introduced, which has remained until the present day.
- April 1, 1999: The National Lottery Commission is founded to oversee the game. It remained the lottery’s regulatory authority until it was abolished in 2013, allowing the UKGC to become the new watchdog.
- November 13, 2000: A new game, Lotto Extra, launches.
- December 19, 2000: Camelot wins a second seven-year license to be the National Lottery operator.
- January 27, 2002: The second seven-year license comes into effect.
- July 10, 2002: Lotto HotPicks launches, becoming the third lottery game.
- October 23, 2002: The first midweek Thunderball draw is made.
- February 24, 2003: Camelot launches the first instant win games for online lottery.
- September 22, 2003: Daily Play games become available at retailers.
- February 13, 2004: The National Lottery expands outside the U.K. with the launch of EuroMillions, a multi-country draw with prize funds in the tens of millions of pounds.
- November 25, 2004: The National Lottery Bill is introduced to the House of Commons.
- January 26, 2005: The National Lottery Commission opens a new license competition.
- July 6, 2005: London is awarded the 2012 Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A large portion of the games will be funded by lottery money.
- July 15, 2006: The first Dream Number Draw is held.
- June 29, 2006: Organizations start bidding on the third lottery license.
- August 31, 2007: Camelot is awarded a third license to operate the National Lottery.
- February 1, 2009: The third license comes into effect, this time for ten years.
- November 24, 2009: The National Lottery celebrates its 15th birthday.
- July 4, 2012: London hosts the Olympic Games, with £2.2 billion coming from the National Lottery.
- October 1, 2013: The National Lottery Commission and the U.K. Gambling Commission merge.
- October 1, 2013: Changes to the main Lotto draw see more prizes, raffles, and a new £2 ticket price.
- November 1, 2014: It has been 20 years since the launch of the National Lottery.
- March 18, 2019: Set for Life game launches.
- November 19, 2019: The National Lottery turns 25.
Lotteries Available in the U.K.
Since that first Lotto main draw in 1994, the National Lottery has come a long way. Through several evolutions and game launches, there is now a large selection of lottery games. U.K. players from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can take part in the following National Lottery games:
EuroMillions
While the main Lotto draw remains the most popular, there’s no doubt EuroMillions is the most lucrative lottery in the U.K. It is the one everybody wants to win. With EuroMillions, you become very wealthy, especially if there is a rollover.
If there is no winner one week, the prize fund in all main lottery games in the U.K. rolls over to the following week. When this happens across multiple weeks with EuroMillions, prizes run between £50 million and higher than £100 million.
Available in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland, EuroMillions is famous throughout Europe. The compromise you have when playing EuroMillions and potentially winning colossal money is that you have less chance of winning.
Players select five main lottery numbers from 1 to 50 and two Lucky Star numbers for a group of 12. Matching all numbers means you win the jackpot. All EuroMillions prizes are paid out in a lump sum and are tax-free in most countries.
Millionaire Maker
An expansion of EuroMillions, Millionaire Maker, is a U.K. exclusive game that is held every week. It is unique because it guarantees that at least one player each week will win £1 million. Launched in 2009, the Millionaire Maker functions alongside EuroMillions. That means when EuroMillions became available two times a week, so did the Millionaire Maker prize.
To play Millionaire Maker, you must purchase a EuroMillions ticket. Codes for the Millionaire Maker game are automatically generated on each line of lottery numbers for EuroMillions. You don’t choose the code that’s associated with the lines you purchase. All codes are four or four letters and five numbers and act as a raffle number.
When the standard EuroMillions draw happens, a random raffle number is picked. In order to win the Millionaire Maker, your code must match those of the winning code in its entirety.
Thunderball
Thunderball is a jackpot draw National Lottery game where you choose five main lottery numbers from 1 to 39 and then one unique “Thunderball” number from 1 to 14. To win this game, you must match the Thunderball and at least three main numbers. The more numbers you match along with the Thunderball, the bigger the prize.
The top prize is £500,000 for matching all five numbers with the Thunderball.
Set for Life
One of the newest National Lottery games is Set for Life, which debuted on March 18, 2019. It is a smaller prize fund game that offers a jackpot paid in installments. Specifically, winners receive £10,000 each month for the next thirty years, for a total jackpot of £3.6 million. To play Ste for Life, you must choose five main lottery numbers from 1 to 47 and a single “Life Ball” from 1 to 10.
Lotto Hotpicks
Another side game attached to the main Lotto draw, HotPicks, made its debut on January 26, 2018. It links closely with Lotto, with players using the same five lottery numbers they chose for the main draw. All numbers must be matched to be a winner.
EuroMillions HotPicks is a similar game that launched in 2018.
Irish Lotto
The National Lottery of Ireland is the Irish version of Lotto and associated games while also allowing Irish gamblers to participate in EuroMillions. Notably, the Irish Lotto is not associated with the U.K. National Lottery, although it does share the same backers at the board level. The National Lottery in Ireland has been in operation since 1988, six years longer than the U.K. version.
Various U.K. online sports betting sites allow you to bet on the results of the Irish Lottery. For example, these include Irish-born bookie Boyle Sports.
Health Lottery
Because of the national U.K. lottery’s popularity, it’s easy to think it is the only lottery game in the U.K. But that’s not the case. The Health Lottery is an example of another, albeit more minor, lottery operation. Available since 2011, the Health Lottery runs five draws each week from Tuesday to Saturday.
It is specifically designed to reward community interest companies on a regional level, providing one company with a win each week. 20% of all ticket sales are allocated to local health groups. Prize funds range from another free play to £250,000.
Postcode Lottery
Also known as the People’s Postcode Lottery, the Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in the U.K. Players must sign up and pay in advance each month for their tickets. Ten draws happen each month, although prizes are available each day. As the name suggests, tickets are based on a player’s postcode. The highest jackpot for a single ticket is £500,000.
St Patrick’s Lottery
About as specialist as any lottery can be, the St Patrick’s Lottery is held just once each year. You’ve guessed it, on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). There are several prize funds and a jackpot of £13.3 million, making this more lucrative than most National Lottery jackpots.
Free Lottery
Who doesn’t like a free chance at winning big money? That’s what the Free Lottery brings, a game that costs nothing to enter. Instead, the operator uses advertising to cover costs. Daily and Weekly draws are held with a jackpot of £10,000.
Lottery Winners
Over the years, there have been thousands of millionaire winners of the U.K. National Lottery and its various games. The U.K. National Lottery winners are widespread, and there are many amazing stories to tell. People’s lives have changed in the time it takes for six balls to drop from a tombola. Some of those winners have become famous because of the massive amounts they won, while others have more unique stories to tell.
Colin and Christine Weir (£161 Million on EuroMillions)
Winning one of the biggest lottery jackpots globally, Scottish couple Colin and Christine Weir went from a humble lifestyle to the jet-set overnight. Colin was known for splashing his cash on cars, houses, and luxury items. But he also gave to family and charities. The couple eventually split in 2019, sharing their winnings in the divorce.
Colin passed away from sepsis in 2018, with £40 million of his fortune left behind to his kids. Before his death, he bought a controlling 55% stake in Patrick Thistle FC and gave its fans the ownership.
Michael Carrol (£9.7 Million on the Main Lotto Draw)
Probably the most infamous of all U.K. lottery winners, Michael Carrol is the quintessential example of the mythical “lottery curse.” He was just 19-years-old when he won nearly 10 million on the National Lottery in 2002. Within ten years, the money had all gone, and Carrol was back living his old life.
In many ways, he did what you would expect a 19-year-old to do when they’re suddenly handed millions of pounds – he spent it. On cars, on houses, on holidays, parties, drinks, and drugs. He even built a race circuit in his garden for dirt racing. Carrol spent so much that by 2010 most of his money had gone.
Carrol later took a job in a factory earning near minimum wage and settled back into a more normal life by all accounts. Carrol arguably enjoyed his money, but he is the poster boy for lottery excess and financial mismanagement. He is also living proof that it is possible to spend money which is supposed to set you up for life.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford (£148 Million on EuroMillions)
The Bayfords are another example of a couple who seemingly had it all when they won a massive £148 million. But they ultimately let the money tear them apart. Less than a year after winning their jackpot EuroMillions prize, Adrian and Gillian Bayford were heading for divorce and splitting their vast fortune.
Since then, problems have followed both Adrian and Gillian.
Gillian has been accused of assaulting her ex-boyfriend while she is now married to Brian Deans, a convicted fraudster in the U.K. It’s hardly been plain sailing for Adrian, who has seen two relationships fall apart amid accusations of cheating.
Callie Rogers (£1.8 Million on Main Lotto Draw)
Callie Rogers was the U.K.’s youngest lottery winner when she took a £1.8 million share of a jackpot in 2003. However, she became another example of money corrupting a young mind. Callie quickly turned to drugs while also squandering money on plastic surgery. Although, she was also known for being generous to friends and family.
Nearly twenty years on, Rogers has spent her money and settled back into everyday life. She says she feels much more comfortable not being a millionaire. She is now raising three kids and working a regular job.
World Winners
When looking at lottery winners worldwide, there’s only one thing to do: check who has won the most money! Most of the giant lottery wins in history have happened in the United States. The most impressive jackpot ever was a nationwide Powerball game in 2016 that totaled $1.586 billion. Three couples hit the winning lottery numbers and split the jackpot three ways.
The biggest-ever single-player win goes to an anonymous North Carolina winner who scooped $1.537 billion on the Mega Millions lottery. Because lottery wins are taxed in the U.S., the winner finally pocketed only $491.7 million. Still, nothing to complain about.
World Lotteries
While the U.K. National Lottery is one of the most famous lotteries in the world. It is not the only big game in town. It is also nowhere near the most lucrative. Below are some of the most well-known lottery games around the globe:
- Powerball (U.S.): Is held across 45 states and known for massive jackpots, including wins of over $1 billion.
- Mega Millions (U.S.): Another lottery with billionaire jackpots, Mega Millions, is available across most U.S. states and has a minimum jackpot of $40 million.
- EuroMillions (U.S.): A game run by the U.K. National Lottery that includes other European nations, allowing for bigger jackpots.
- Eurojackpot (Multiple European): This is a nineteen-country lottery in Europe with a minimum jackpot of €10 million and a max rollover of €90 million.
- El Gordo (Spain): The Spanish Christmas Lottery is a unique annual draw held just before Christmas. It carries a jackpot of €4 million.
- SuperEnalotto (Italy): Italy’s main lottery draw has been held three times a week since 1997. It has some of the lowest odds of any global lottery game but some of the biggest jackpots.
Popular U.K. retail and online sportsbook Betfred offers to bet on many world lotteries. You can choose your numbers, buy a ticket, and bet the outcomes. It’s similar to playing the actual lottery, and the winnings are also huge if you get lucky.
Summary
The U.K. National Lottery is one of the best lottery games in the world. It creates many winners and works for a noble cause by donating money to community projects and charities. It’s clear why it is so popular amongst people in the U.K. Whether you are buying tickets online or at a physical location, only buy tickets from registered and licensed retailers and sites. We online recommend at PlayRight.co.uk operators that are fully licensed and regulated by the UKGC.
Remember that lottery is a form of gambling, so have fun and try your luck, but always gamble responsibly. So you can come back and buy that next ticket, which who knows, may have your name on it.
