Comparable odds to winning a Lotto jackpot

When you look closely into the odds of winning a particular jackpot, it’s often hard to get those odds into perspective.

By showing you what the odds are of other events or scenarios helps put the Lotto odds into a different light.

To win a Lotto jackpot you have to match 6 numbers from 1-49 for the draw in which you have a Lotto ticket. If you only have one ticket for a particular draw, then the odds against winning are 13,983,815 to 1.

Already I can see your eyes glazing over as you try to imagine what that really means. To help you, here is a list of things that are more likely to happen to you than winning a Lotto jackpot.

More likely

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Dying in a plane crash – 11,000,000 to 1

Every year approximately 1,300 people die in plane crashes.

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Killed by a lightning strike – 10,000,000 to 1

Each year approximately 5 people are killed by lightning with men being 4 times more likely to be struck than women.

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Killed by radiation from Nuclear Power  - 10,000,000 to 1

These odds are coming down as the risk of terrorism increases and as other forms of energy run out.

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Dying in a terrorist attack – 9,300,000 to 1

These odds were calculated in 2008 the year after 2,000 people died worldwide from terrorist attacks. They are probably not so low now.

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Dying from a snake bite – 3,500,000 to 1

Believe it or not, around 25,000 people die each year from snake bites. Luckily for us in the UK, over 10,000 of them are in India

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Falling out of bed and dying – 2,000,000 to 1

In the United Kingdom about 20 people each year die from falling out of bed. Those at greatest risk are the very young and the elderly.

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Being killed on a bus 13,000,000 to 1

Public transport is one of the safest forms of travel.

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Deaths from a road accident – 8,000 to 1

In Britain almost 3,000 drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians die in road accidents every year. Worldwide, over 3,000 people die every day from road crashes.

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 Knowing that you have more chance of those things happening to you helps you to understand what odds of 14,000,000 to 1 really mean. Whilst we all hope that our numbers come up when we are checking our lottery results, we certainly don’t want our number to come up for any of those scenarios.

Less likely

On the other hand, you might be pleased to find out that you have MORE chance of winning a Lotto Jackpot than any of these happening to you

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Dying from a shark attack – 300,000,000 to 1

Luckily fewer than 40 people die each year from shark attacks, although this number is slowly increasing as more of us holiday on coasts where sharks feed.

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Dying in a fairground accident – 300,000,000

Fortunately, fatal fairground accidents are very rare in this country.

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Being killed by a falling coconut – 250,000,000 to 1

Apparently, falling coconuts kill about 150 people each year. With coconut trees growing to 80 feet or more, a falling coconut can reach a velocity of 50mph.

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With the odds being so high, all the more reason to join Free National Lottery Tickets and pick up FREE lottery tickets for the coming weeks draws.

A look back at Marks & Spencers Christmas 2011

In the run up to Christmas 2010 Britain was in the grip of some hideously bad weather.  Snow was blocking roads and railway lines, countless people couldn’t get to work, and of those that could, many had to stay at home and look after children as schools were closed. Some for up to two weeks.

Consequently, high streets across the land were empty and the countries major retailers bemoaned their misfortune at what for them is the most profitable time of year.

That was the excuse Marks & Spencers gave for their worse than expected performances last Christmas. Surely 2011 couldn’t be a bad… could it?

The weather over December 2011 couldn’t have been more different than the previous year. The majority of the UK experienced average temperatures 5 °C higher than the same period last year. There was no snow to speak of and the High Streets were buzzing again.

Marks & Spencers CEO

Marc Bolland, who became Chief Executive Officer CEO of Marks & Spencer in May 2010 has had a tough time since he took office. Not to say that his predecessor Sir Stuart Rose would have faired any better in these tough times. Stuart Rose had been in charge of Marks & Spencers for 6 years after his return in 2004. Sir Stuart had started his career in retail at M&S and spent 17 years there before moving to the Burton Group in 1989.  Sir Stuart Rose was awarded a Knighthood in the 2007 New Years Honours list, largely for his work in turning around M&S which was struggling when he rejoined.

Marks & Spencer Christmas Trading

In summarising their Christmas trading, M&S reported facing severe competition from their rivals who had cut prices earlier than other years and by more. Debenhams in particular has appeared to run promotions right throughout December and had stolen a march on its competitors. Debenhams reported a jump of 6.5% in like-for-like sales over the five weeks to 31 December, although that figure did include VAT. Over the longer period of 18 weeks to 7 January, Debenhams reported like-for-like sales, excluding VAT, were on a par with last year.

M&S reported like-for-like sales varied depending on the sector. Food had done well with a rise of 3% against last year, boosted by traditional Christmas fare such as  party food and mince pies. Clothing sales were also up, but only just, they tiptoed up 1.1% on last year. M&S’s worst performing sector was homewares. Blamed largely on their decision to pull out of the consumer electricals market, homewares was down by a disappointing 13.3%. These combined to cause a drop of like-for-like sales of 1.8% in general merchandise.

Marks & Spencers Share Price

Despite falling sales, M&S still kept profits at the same level as last year by slashing 90m off their costs. Whilst this is good news for shareholders, cost cutting at this level isn’t sustainable and analysts are wondering what will happen next year. Meanwhile share prices struggle at around 330p, down about 45p on this time last year.

M&S chief executive Marc Bolland said the company had performed well in a “challenging” trading environment: “Our food business performed very strongly as customers enjoyed our new and traditional Christmas products.” Customers had saved money elsewhere so they could treat their families to a “special Christmas at home”.

With the economic forecast still looking bleak and with continuing worries about the Euro, M&S expects trading conditions to remain tough throughout this year. “We continue to be cautious about the outlook for the year ahead,” said Bolland, adding he was a “glass half full man” with the Olympics and Diamond jubilee celebrations hopefully being a boost to sales.

As one of the best loved names in the high street today, we wish M&S all the best for 2012 and I for one will be buying my mince pies there again this Christmas.

Ex Of 10 Years Sues For Share Of Lottery Win

The winner of a £56m lottery jackpot has been forced to give a share to his ex-wife who left him ten years ago.

Nigel Page, 44 and divorced, was sued by Wendy his ex-wife after his EuroMillions jackpot win in 2010, even though she had left him for another man 10 years earlier.

Wendy, a Human Resources Director, who is the mother of his then 13-year-old daughter, claimed £8million but in an out-of-court settlement was awarded just £2m later the same year.

She was seen celebrating with a bottle of Champagne as she left her luxury Gloucestershire home with a mystery man soon after the award.

Nigel – who remarried after his win in February 2010- is believed to be the first lottery winner in the UK to be successfully sued by an ex-spouse. AT the time, the £56m EuroMillions lottery jackpot was the third biggest in the UK.

Mr Page had decided to offer his ex Wendy, £1m following his jackpot win in February 2010, but his ex is believed to have instructed her lawyers to claim up to £8m.

Naturally Nigel claimed to have been very hurt by what his ex-wife had put him through. It is thought that his ex also won a whooping increase in maintenance payments for their daughter, up from £150 to £2,000 per month.

Legal experts said at the time that it is likely the couple failed to include a legally-binding ‘clean break’ arrangement when they were divorced. Had they it would have been highly unlikely that Wendy would have won her out-of-court settlement.

EuroMillions Mega-Jackpots set to rollover even longer

Last week, Camelot who along with their European partners operate the EuroMillions lottery, announced a change to the way in which the EuroMillions jackpot cap is calculated.

In May 2010, the maximum amount a EuroMillions jackpot could reach was €180million. Once the jackpot reached that level, it was won by ether one or more players matching the five main numbers and the two lucky stars. If there were no players that fitted that category, the jackpot was shared amongst those in the next level down where there was at least one winner. On each occasion that the jackpot reached its cap and was won, the cap was increased by €5million. Since that time the cap has been reached twice and is today standing at €190million.

EuroMillions have now come up with a calculation to keep the excitement of these massive jackpots going even longer. As from the 17^th February 2012, one the first occasion that the EuroMillions jackpot reaches €190million and there is no player that matches all seven numbers, the jackpot will rollover to the next week and remain at €190million. The jackpot can only remain at this level for a maximum of two consecutive draws. If the jackpot isn’t won after the second consecutive draw, then the winnings will be distributed amongst those with winning tickets in the next lower winning prize category. Typically this would be those matching 5 main numbers and one lucky star.

In the event of a capped jackpot rolling over to a second week and remaining at €190million, the additional prize money that would have usually increased the jackpot level, will be rolled down to the next level where there is at least one winner, thereby increasing the amount that can be won at that level.

This could mean a player matching five main numbers and only one lucky star becoming a multimillionaire as well as the jackpot winner.

Sorry I couldn’t have explained this in a little less text but whilst it isn’t complicated, all scenarios had to be covered. Overall, I think this is a good thing. We do all seem to get caught up in the excitement of these huge jackpots and we all like to read about the outright winners rather that those who share the jackpot winning far smaller amounts.

I’ve started saving already for extra lottery tickets into these mammoth jackpots when they come around.

How To Play Lotto Plus 5

Lotto Plus 5 launched in February 2011 as a supplementary game to Lotto. Using the same selection of numbers used for the Wednesday and Saturday Lotto draws, players are able, for an extra £1 to enter an addition 5 draws which run on the remaining 5 days of the week. The prizes for matching 3 or more numbers in Lotto Plus 5 are fixed so payouts aren’t affected if there are multiple winners.

The fixed pay outs are:

Match 6 main numbers – £250,00
Match 5 plus bonus – £25,000
Match 5 – £250
Match 4 – £25
Match 3 – £2.50

When compared to the Lotto jackpot payouts, £250,000 isn’t too impressive, but considering that in effect each of the 5 Lotto Plus 5 draws is only costing you 20p, it doesn’t look too bad. It also gives you something to look forward to every day.

Buying Lotto Plus 5 Tickets

Buying Lotto Plus 5 tickets is very easy. Simply select your 6 numbers for the main Lotto game pay an extra £1 and you will automatically have those same 6 numbers entered into the next 5 Lotto Plus 5 draws. The draw days will depend on which day your main Lotto draw is. Should you opt to enter the Wednesday Lotto draw and play Lotto Plus 5, then your numbers will be entered into the Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Lotto Plus 5 draws. Should you opt to enter the Saturday Lotto draw and play Lotto Plus 5, then you will be entered into the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday Lotto Plus 5 draws.

You can buy Lotto Plus 5 tickets online here.

Lotto Plus 5 Winners

Lotto Plus 5 creates approximately 500,000 additional lottery winners each week. So if you get Lotto withdrawal symptoms between each Lotto draw, why not enter Lotto Plus 5 and give lady luck all the help you can.

A Record Breaking Year For The National Lottery

Figures released last month by Camelot show that 2011 was a record breaking year for those of us who play the lottery.

Lottery Review 2011:

• In July, the biggest ever UK lottery jackpot prize of over £161m was won by Colin and Chris Weir, a couple from Ayrshire
• Over Christmas the Millionaire Raffle created 50 millionaires (of which 9 are yet to be claimed)
• A total of 229 millionaires were created in total in 2011
• The total prize money won by those lucky 229 players was £720 million, an average of over £3m each.
• The total of 229 millionaires in 12 months is 71 higher than 2010
• 60% of winners were male.
• More jackpots were won by players born under the star sign Taurus than any other
• Over one third of winners claimed to have either dreamt or had a psychic prediction that they would come into some money.
• Construction workers figured highest in the professions of big winners followed by administrators and transport workers
•  The total number of millionaires created over the 17 years that the lottery has been going is now more than 2,750

A spokesperson for the National Lottery said: “This has been an extraordinary year for our players with so many new millionaires and multi-millionaires created. There have been some huge prizes paid out during the last 12 months — and we’ve also been told that many of our big winners have created additional millionaires themselves as a result of their win, which is fantastic news!”

What this shows is that the National Lottery in the UK is more popular than ever with more money going to deserving causes.

Give yourself extra chances of becoming one of the lottery millionaire statistics for 2012 by joining Free National Lottery Tickets and picking up free Lotto and EuroMillions tickets for the next draw.

You never know, we could be writing about you next year!

Where to Buy Lottery Tickets

There are two main ways in which you can buy lottery tickets.

The most widely used method is by visiting a National Lottery retailer and buying your lottery ticket over the counter. This method is very convenient but has its disadvantages. You may forget to buy your ticket. There may be a long queue which can put you off. You may lose the ticket. You may forget to check to see if you’ve won. The ticket may be destroyed by going through the washing machine cycle in your trouser pocket or something similar.

If playing by this method is for you, then Buy Lottery Tickets Offline tells you how to play the different games available through the National Lottery.

The other main way to but lottery tickets is online. Buying tickets online has many benefits. You can buy continuous tickets for Lotto and Lotto Plus 5 without ever having to do anything once you’ve set it up. Simply choose your numbers, the days of the week you want to play and select ‘continuous’ from the ‘number of weeks’ box. Camelot will then debit your bank account monthly with the cost of the tickets and you will never miss another Lotto draw. Whilst the ‘continuous’ choice isn’t available for EuroMillions and Lotto HotPicks, you can still play for 4 and 8 weeks respectively and you will receive notification when your ticket is about to expire so you can renew it.

The other advantage is that you don’t receive an actual ticket so you can lose it or destroy it. You will never have to check it either, as should your ticket win, you will receive an email from the National Lottery telling you and your winnings will be paid directly into your account.

Find out more about Buying Lottery Tickets Online

The third and least widely known way of buying lotterytickets is by text. Again this method has all the advantages of playing online but with the added ease of being able to do it anywhere from your mobile phone.

Find out more about Buying Lottery Tickets By Text

Buying Your Lottery Tickets Offline

In this section we tell you how to play each of the games available through the National Lottery.

How To Play Lotto and lotto Plus 5

When playing Lotto and Lotto Plus 5 offline through a National Lottery retailer, you take a Lotto payslip and follow the instructions on the reverse. They will tell you the following:

Select 6 numbers from 1-49 or tick the Lucky Dip box to have the numbers selected for you. Each payslip allows you to make 7 individual entries on the 7 boards provided

Choose which draws (WED and/or SAT) and how many weeks you wish to play

For Lotto Plus 5 if you’ve marked the WED box, you’ll be entered into five Lotto Plus 5 draws from Thursday. If SAT is marked you’ll be entered into five Lotto Plus 5 draws from Sunday. If BOTH is marked you will be entered into five Lotto Plus 5 draws from the day after the next Lotto draw

You can now enter any or all of the entries into the Lotto Plus 5 game by marking the box in the yellow band on each board.

Lotto costs £1 per board, per draw. Lotto Plus 5 cost £1 extra per Lotto board for all five Lotto Plus 5 draws

You have to be playing Lotto to Plus 5 your Lotto numbers

The Lotto Plus 5 draws take place in between the Lotto draws

Filling In Your Lotto and Lotto plus 5 Payslip

Mark your selected boxes with a thick horizontal line e.g.

Don’t use red ink
Mark the VOID box and start again on a new board if you make a mistake on your Lotto selection

Enter your chosen Lotto draw/s up to 7 times on each payslip

Use additional payslips if you wish to enter more than 7 boards into Lotto draws

Mark the VOID box in the yellow band if you have mistakenly selected Lotto Plus 5, but don’t wish to enter the Lotto Plus 5 draws

How To Play Euromillions

When playing Euromillions offline through a National Lottery retailer, you take a Euromillions payslip and follow the instructions on the reverse. They will tell you the following:

Choose your own numbers or select Lucky Dip to have the numbers chosen for you
Choose 5 numbers from 1-50 on the main board
Choose 2 numbers from 1-11 on the Lucky Star Numbers board
Choose how many weeks you wish to play for (up to 4)
Choose to play in the Tuesday draw (TUE), the Friday draw (FRI) or both (BOTH)

Filling In Your Euromillions Payslip

Mark your selected boxes with a thick horizontal line e.g.
Don’t use red ink

Mark the VOID box and start again on a new board if you make a mistake on your Euromillions selection
Enter your chosen Euromillions draw/s up to 5 times on each payslip
Use additional payslips if you wish to enter more than 5 boards into Euromillions draws

How To Play Thunderball

When playing Thunderball offline through a National Lottery retailer, you take a Thunderball payslip and follow the instructions on the reverse. They will tell you the following:

Choose your own numbers or select Lucky Dip to have the numbers chosen for you
Choose 5 numbers from 1-39 on the main board
Choose 1 number from 1-14 on the Thunderball board
Choose how many weeks you wish to play for up to 8
Choose to play in the Wednesday draw (WED), the Friday draw (FRI), the Saturday draw (SAT), or all (ALL)

Filling In Your Thunderball Payslip

Mark your selected boxes with a thick horizontal line e.g. [-]
Don’t use red ink

Mark the VOID box and start again on a new board if you make a mistake on your Thunderball selection
Enter your chosen Thunderball draw/s up to 6 times on each payslip
Use additional payslips if you wish to enter more than 6 boards into Thunderball draws

How To Play Lotto HotPicks

When playing Lotto HotPicks offline through a National Lottery retailer, you take a Lotto HotPicks payslip and follow the instructions on the reverse. They will tell you the following:

Choose which game you wish to play:

There are 5 games to choose from each with one way to win a prize:

Pick 1 – choose 1 number from 1-49, or select Lucky Dip
Pick 2 – choose 2 numbers from 1-49, or select Lucky Dip
Pick 3 – choose 3 numbers from 1-49, or select Lucky Dip
Pick 4 – choose 4 numbers from 1-49, or select Lucky Dip
Pick 5 – choose 5 numbers from 1-49, or select Lucky Dip

Choose which draws and how many weeks you wish to play for up to 8
There is no separate Lotto HotPicks draw – the numbers drawn for Lotto determine if you are a winner for Lotto HotPicks (depending on which Lotto HotPicks game you have chosen to play)
Filling In Your Lotto HotPicks Payslip

Mark your selected boxes with a thick horizontal line e.g. [-]

Don’t use red ink

Mark the VOID box and start again on a new board if you make a mistake on your Lotto HotPicks selection
Enter your chosen Lotto HotPicks draw/s up to 5 times on each payslip
Use additional payslips if you wish to enter more than 5 boards into Lotto HotPicks draws

If you prefer to buy your tickets online taking advantage of all the benefits that buying online brings, follow this link

Benefits of Buying Lottery Tickets Online

Buying lottery tickets online has many benefits.

The first rule to consider when trying to win a lottery jackpot is, ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’. If you play offline, there is always the risk that you may forget to buy your ticket or that you’ll remember late and when you get to the lottery retailer, find a long queue or worse still a faulty terminal.

When playing Lotto and Thunderball online you are able to set up a direct debit and have tickets with your regular numbers automatically bought for you each week. Once set up you don’t have to do anything. You’ll never miss out on a prize either as the National Lottery will email you to let you know if you have won or not and your winnings are automatically transferred into your bank account. With millions of pounds not being claimed each year by offline players, this is a major benefit.

Play Lotto, EuroMillions & Thunderball Online

When playing EuroMillions online you can buy tickets for both the Tuesday and Friday draws for periods of up to 4 weeks. Whilst this is not as convenient as having continuous tickets, it is still preferable to playing offline for all the reasons mentioned above. Having your results checked for you is even more important when it comes to EuroMillions because of the Millionaire Raffle. When buying EuroMillions tickets offline, you have to check every lines unique Millionaire Raffle code to see if you’ve won. It’s easily misread and you can mistakenly think you haven’t won when you have and it’s even easier to forget to check altogether. All the more reason to buy your EuroMillions tickets online.

Buying tickets online may not suit everyone as many players like to buy their tickets offline. The way round that is to register with our Free Lottery Results Service and we will email with the results after each draw.. This service is completely free and will ensure that you never miss out if your numbers come up. Sign up to our Free Lottery Results Service at the bottom of this page

How to win Lotto HotPicks

Lotto HotPicks is a game designed to give players the opportunity of winning bigger prizes for picking and matching fewer Lotto numbers.

There is no separate HotPicks draw. HotPicks is derived from the Lotto game and uses the Lotto numbers drawn bi-weekly on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s.

How To Play Lotto HotPicks

For each Lotto draw, there are five different ways you can play Lotto HotPicks.

The aim of the game is to pick 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 of the Lotto numbers from 1 to 49. Not as simple as it sounds when you add the fact that you have to select how many you are aiming to match and that you have to match them all to win. For example, if you choose to play ‘Pick 3′, you would select 3 numbers from 1 – 49. If all 3 numbers were drawn in the main Lotto draw then you would have a winning ticket. If only 1 or 2 numbers matched those in the Lotto draw, then you wouldn’t win anything.

It isn’t necessary to enter the main Lotto game to play Lotto HotPicks.

Each ‘Pick’ costs £1.

On a HotPicks payslip you can play up to 5 games for both the Wednesday and Saturday draws and choose to play those same numbers for up to eight weeks in advance, starting with the next draw.

The same options are available to those playing Lotto HotPicks Online

Your HotPicks Ticket

If you purchase your Lotto HotPicks ticket through a National Lottery retailer, the first thing you must do is check that the ticket matches the selection you’ve made on your payslip, and that the draw dates and number or weeks you’ve entered are also correct. It is always good practise to immediately write your name and address on the reverse of your ticket. That way if you lost your ticket and it happened to be a winner, no-one else would be able to claim the winnings without the Lottery Operator carrying out an investigation. Then ensure that you put your ticket in a safe place as it is your only proof of purchase and is required in order to make a claim. Here are some of the more unusual places that players have used as a safe place to keep their ticket.

Lotto HotPicks Odds

Game          Match       Odds       Prize
HotPick 1    1 number    9:1               £5
HotPick 2    2 numbers  79:1            £40
HotPick 3    3 numbers  922:1         £450
HotPick 4    4 numbers  14,126:1   £7,000
HotPick 5    5 numbers  317,814:1  £130,000

* The prize value may in exceptional circumstances vary depending on the number of winners and volume of ticket sales.

Improve your odds of winning a lottery jackpot by joining Free National Lottery Tickets today!

Learn the History of Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling involving the drawing of lots to win a prize. Unlike many other forms of gambling like poker or horse racing, a lottery is not a skill based game but a game of chance.

100 years ago lotteries were illegal in most countries. Nowadays, it is usual for governments to regulate lottery activity, although in some countries lotteries are still outlawed. It is now not uncommon for governments to actively encourage lotteries by endorsing their own state or national lotteries. One such country is the United Kingdom who granted a licence to run a state lottery back in 1994. The National Lottery as it is now known as has changed and grown since it’s inception and has become the most popular forms of gambling in the UK with games such as Lotto, Lotto Plus 5, Lotto HotPicks and Thunderball offering the public the chance to win life changing amounts of money every day of the week. In 2004, the pan European lottery game EuroMillions was also added to the mix making it possible for someone to win a jackpot of up to £180 million.

Lotteries can come in many different formats. Some lotteries offer fixed prizes that can include houses or cars although it is more common for the prize to be a sum of money. There are some inherent risks attached to running a lottery of this type as it is possible that the amount of stake money wouldn’t match the value of the prize leaving the lottery operator out of pocket. More commonly, the value of the prize is fixed as a percentage of the receipts. This protects the lottery operators but can also restrict the size of the prize. Recently, as with the National Lottery, lotteries allow their players to select the numbers on the lottery tickets. This can result in their being multiple winners of a jackpot prize, or their not being any winners at all. In such cases it is often the case that the jackpot prize is ‘rolled over’ into the next lottery draw resulting in much higher jackpots. It is this such occurence that has resulted in players winning jackpots worth £150m plus in the UK alone.

The recent popularity of lotteries around the world with the general public has been attributed to the feel-good factor that can come from buying a ticket. Many players claim to get a thrill out of buying a ticket and fantasising about the possibilty of winning an enormous jackpot. As lotteries around the world continue to evolve offering more player choice and interaction, and as the jackpots increase in size, there is no sign of the lottery phenomenon slowing down soon.

How to win a Thunderball Jackpot

The Thunderball draw was first launched by the UK lottery operators Camelot on 12th June 1999.

How To Play Thunderball

There are two ways in which you can play Thunderball, either offline through a National Lottery retailer, or online. With either method, the process is the same:

Decide whether you are going to select your own numbers or take a lucky dip.

To select your own, choose 5 numbers from 1-39 on the main board, then choose 1 number from 1-14 from the Thunderball board.

Choose which draws and how many weeks you wish to enter.

Thunderball is drawn every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Each selection of numbers will cost you £1 for each draw you enter.

Filling Out A Thunderball Payslip

Mark all your entry boxes with a thick horizontal line like this [-]
Don’t use red ink as it may not be picked up by the ticket machine
If you make a mistake, simply place a tick in the VOID box and start again on a new board.
You can enter up to 6 times on 1 Thunderball payslip by using all the available boards.

How Do You Win Thunderball?

With every Thunderball draw, 5 ‘Main’ numbers and 1 ‘Thunderball number is randomly drawn
If you match your 5 ‘Main’ numbers in any order with the 5 ‘Main’ numbers drawn, and then match your ‘Thunderball’ number with the ‘Thunderball’ number drawn, then you will win the top prize.

The top prize is fixed (apart from in exceptional circumstance) and it never has to be shared. If one week there were 3 winners of the top prize, then the top prize would be paid out 3 times.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to win the top prize, then there are a further 8 ways in which you could win a lesser prize. The table below shows the prize-winning combinations and the prizes associated with each combination.

Winning Numbers

Match 5 numbers and the Thunderball £500,000
Match 5 Numbers £5,000
Match 4 numbers and the Thunderball £250
Match 4 numbers £100
Match 3 numbers and the Thunderball £20
Match 3 numbers £10
Match 2 numbers and the Thunderball £10
Match 1 numbers and the Thunderball £5
Match the Thunderball £3

Checking Your Ticket

It’s important to check your ticket before you leave the retailer it to see that it matches the selection, the number of draws and the draw dates made on your payslip. Changes cannot be made after a draw has been made. You can keep your payslip to use another time but remember, payslips are not accepted as proof of a ticket purchase.

Keep Your Ticket Safe

Your ticket is your only proof of purchase so make sure you keep it in a safe place. See our tips on keeping your ticket safe

How To Claim Your Prize

UP TO £100 – Prizes of up to £100 can be claimed in cash from your local Lottery retailer. Some retailers will pay out on prizes up to £500 in cash, but they don’t have to. If your local lottery retailer can’t process your ticket, then you should contact The National Lottery Line on 08459 100 000 for information on how to claim your prize.

UP TO £50,000 – Most main lottery Post Offices are able to pay up to £50,000 by cheque. Winners can opt to receive the first £500 in cash if they choose. Winners will have to fill in a Prize Claim Form (available from your local.

Alternatively, for all prizes up to £50,000, you can send your ticket along with completed Prize Claim Form (if your prize is over £500) to The National Lottery, PO Box 287, Watford, Herts, WD18 9TT. Your prize will be paid out within five working days of receipt of the claim by cheque providing that there is no query with the ticket. It is the winner’s responsibility to get the ticket and claim form to The National Lottery. As such, it is highly recommended that should you choose to post your ticket and claim form, that you use ‘Special Deliver’ or some other form of insured postal service and that you ensure that.

Over £50,000 – Winners of prizes in excess of £50,000 must be claimed in person, and will be paid either by cheque or by direct credit into a current bank account. If this is you, contact The National Lottery Line on 08459 100 000 for information on how to claim your prize.

How Long Do I have To Claim A Prize?

Thunderball prizes must be claimed by producing the winning ticket within 180 days of the relevant draw date. Anyone claiming by telephone within the 180 day limit has a further 7 days after the expiry of the 180 days to claim their prize by attending a regional Centre along with the winning ticket, a completed Prize Claim Form and a current proof of identity. the conditions for claiming in this was include providing name, address and ticket number and telling Camelot that they intend to claim within the extra seven days. Thereafter, a claimant failing to meet the seven day deadline will forfeit their prize.

The National Lottery

The National Lottery is the largest lottery in the United Kingdom. It is operated by the Camelot Group whose head office is based in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Camelot were granted the licence to run the lottery in 1994 when the National Lottery was first launched. They retained the licence in 2001 when they beat off a strong challenge from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Camelot were again awarded the licence in 2009. This third license is for a ten year period with the option to extend by a further five years. The lottery is regulated by The National Lottery Commission.

The National Lottery was given a new look in 2002 in an attempt to reverse the fall in sales. This resulted in the Lottery game being renamed Lotto and new games including Thunderball and Lotto Plus 5 being introduced. However, the games are still collectively known as The National Lottery.

In 2004 the EuroMillions Lottery was launched. This is also operated by Camelot in the UK.

The UK Lotto is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom. The minimum jackpot is £2 million GBP and the biggest jackpot to-date was £42 million. All prizes are paid as one lump sum, not spread over many years as with some lotteries. All prizes are tax-free.

Out of every pound spent on Lottery games, 50p goes to the prize fund, 28p to ‘good causes’, 12p to the British Government as duty and 5p to retailers as commission (6% for lottery scratch card sales), while the operator receives 4.5p to cover their running costs and a further 0.5p profit. The National Lottery returns a higher percentage of revenue back to society than any other Lottery.

Players must be at least 16 years of age to take part, either in the drawn lottery games or by the purchase of lottery scratch cards. To purchase lottery tickets online you must also be a resident of the United Kingdom.

FreeNationalLotteryTickets, the only site in world that gives you free tickets* to the Lotto and EuroMillions draw, is not affiliated to, associated, endorsed or connected in any way to Camelot.

Millionaire Raffle – and how to win it.

The Millionaire Raffle was introduced in 2010 as an addition to the hugely successful EuroMillions lottery. Whilst the EuroMillions lottery is open to countries across Europe, the Millionaire Raffle guarantees a UK winner of a £1 million prize with every Friday and Tuesday draw.

When a player buys a EuroMillions ticket in the UK, along with their entry into the main EuroMillions draw, they are automatically given one entry into a separate UK-only draw which guarantees one winner of £1 million.

Every line purchased on a EuroMillions ticket is allocated a series of three letters and six numbers, for example FNL123456. The combinations are selected in such a way that no two players can have the same number.

With every Friday and Tuesday draw, the Millionaires Raffle draw is also made. As a raffle as opposed to alottery, the winning combination is selected from the Millionaire Raffle combinations that were distributed for that particular draw, thereby guaranteeing a winner every time. There are no other prizes in the Millionaires Raffle apart from the £1 million.

The cost of entering the Millionaire Raffle is zero. The £2 fee for a line in EuroMillions covers the cost of the Millionaire Raffle.

You can’t opt out of receiving a Millionaires Raffle entry as they are automatically given with each individual line for EuroMillions and included in the price.

The Millionaire Raffle draw is televised live on Friday evenings as part of the coverage of the main EuroMillions draw. You can see the Tuesday Millionaires Raffle draw online only.

The odds of winning the Millionaire Raffle vary depending on the number of EuroMillions tickets sold for each draw.

The approximate odds of winning the Millionaire Raffle on a Tuesday draw based on an average of the number of EuroMillions lines purchased in the UK since the introduction of the Millionaire Raffle is 1:3,500,000. For a Friday draw the odds are an approximate 1:9,200,000

These approximations are likely to vary significantly depending on the volume of EuroMillions tickets purchased in the UK. This can fluctuate greatly when there are rollovers.

How to win a EuroMillions Jackpot!

EuroMillions is a Europe wide lottery jointly launched in February 2004 by France, Spain and the United Kingdom. France’s lottery operator is Francaise des Jeux, which translates as the French Games. The company is owned and operated by the French Government. Spains lottery is operated by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado and the UK’s lottery is operated by Camelot. It wasn’t until October 2004 that Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland joined EuroMillions. Initially the draw took place once a week on Friday’s. In May 2011 a Tuesday night draw was added. Both draws take place at 19.45 GMT in Paris. In the UK the cost of a EuroMillions ticket is £2 All prizes, including the jackpot, are tax-free (except in Switzerland) and are paid in lump sum.

How To Play EuroMillions

To play EuroMillions in the UK you must be 16 or over.

Players select five main numbers between 1 and 50, then a further two Lucky Star numbers between 1 and 11.

• EuroMillions Prizes

Main numbers	Lucky stars	Probability of winning		% of prize fund	Expected winnings (€/euro)	Expected winnings (£/Sterling)
		Fraction	Decimal
2	0	1 in 23	0.0438	18.0%	€ 4	£2.70
2	1	1 in 46	0.0219	17.6%	€ 8	£5.40
1	2	1 in 156	0.0064	6.5%	€ 10	£6.90
3	0	1 in 327	0.0031	3.7%	€ 12	£8.20
3	1	1 in 654	0.0015	2.2%	€ 14	£9.80
2	2	1 in 821	0.0012	2.3%	€ 19	£12.80
3	2	1 in 11,771	0.000085	0.5%	€ 59	£40.10
4	0	1 in 14,387	0.000070	0.7%	€ 101	£68.60
4	1	1 in 28,773	0.000035	0.7%	€ 201	£137.20
4	2	1 in 517,919	0.0000019	0.8%	€ 4,143	£2,824.30
5	0	1 in 3,236,994	0.00000031	1.6%	€ 51,792	£35,303.90
5	1	1 in 6,473,989	0.00000015	4.8%	€ 310,751	£211,823.60
5	2	1 in 116,531,800	0.0000000086	32.0%	Jackpot	Jackpot
Booster fund				8.6%

• The booster fund is available to contribute to the jackpot

The booster fund is available to contribute to the jackpot, for example to boost the initial jackpot in a sequence of growing jackpots. The amount utilised each week is determined in advance by the participating lotteries.

The odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 13

The odds of getting none of the 50 main balls but getting both lucky stars are approximately 1 in 95. This means that it is less likely than getting 2 main balls and one lucky star (1 in 46). However, there is no prize for only getting 2 lucky stars.

As of 10th May 2011, 8.6% of the prize fund is allocated to a “Booster Fund” which can be used to boost the jackpot prize.

The figures for the estimated prize are just a guide, and the actual amount varies according to the total in the prize fund and the number of winners for each prize. (Estimated prizes as per reverse of UK playslip)

If the jackpot is not won, it rolls over to the following week.

Effective 7th November 2009 new rules were put in place regarding rollovers. See: http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/help/abouteuromillions/gameprocedures.ftl Prior to this date the jackpot could rollover up to 11 times. If there were no jackpot winner(s) in this rollover, then the jackpot would be distributed to the next prize level with winners.

The new rules introduced the jackpot Pool Cap. When the jackpot reaches or exceeds €185,000,000, the jackpot will remain at €185,000,000 and any additional prize money rolled over will be added to the jackpot pool for the next lower prize level (5 main numbers + 1 Lucky Star). If the €185,000,000 jackpot is not won, the jackpot will be increased by €5,000,000 each week until it is won, and again any additional prize money will be added to the jackpot pool for the next lower prize level.

Those rules were updated in January 2012. Read our jackpot update to get up-to-date with the new rules.

Super Draws & Event draws

Super Draws and Event draws are special drawings when the jackpot is set to a guaranteed amount (often €100 million or €130 million at times), regardless of the expected jackpot. The difference being that a Super Draw jackpot will roll over to the next drawing if not won, but an Event Draw jackpot will be distributed amongst the winners in the next lower tier (i.e. match 5 + 1). The first Super draw of 2011 took place on Tuesday 10 May to mark the introduction of the second weekly EuroMillions draw and changes to the game format (11 lucky stars instead of 9 and a new “match 2 main numbers and no lucky stars” prize tier).

Play Instant Win Games

The National Lottery have over 20 instant win games, some of which have instant prizes of £100,000

Originally, instant win or scratchcard games were small pieces of card where an area has been covered by a thin layer of opaque (designed in accordance with the particular card) latex that can be scratched off with a fingernail or coin. Beneath the concealed area are pictures, symbols, words or sums of money that need to be matched in order to win.

Most scratchcard games require you to match three items in order to win. Some scratchcards have top prizes of up to £250,000. Scratchcards are available from most newsagents, garages and supermarkets. As with Lotto tickets, scratchcards originally cost £1 to play. Since those early days new scratchcard games have been introduced costing £2, £3 and £5 each. The higher cost of the card is normally matched by a higher value top prize.

The types of prizes offered have also changed. Originally, only one-off cash prizes were offered, now you can win a yearly cash sum for life, cars and even houses on a scratchcard. It is now possible to play instant winand scratchcard games online as well.

Try some of these free-to-play online instant win games:

The Health Lottery and how it works

The Health Lottery is not part of the National Lottery. It is 51 local society lotteries each of which represents one or more local authority areas across the length and breadth of Great Britain. Each individual society lottery is licensed by the Gambling Commission raises money for health related good causes within their respective areas. The local society lotteries take it in turns to participate in the draw so that all the areas across England, Scotland and Wales get an appropriate share of the monies raised. Details of when each society lottery is running can be found here along with a map of each of all of the society lotteries.

Good Causes

Your money does make a difference. Of every £1 played on The Health Lottery 20p goes directly to local health-related good causes across Great Britain. This compares with the 28p in every £1 that goes to good causes from the National Lottery.

The money raised from the Health Lottery will not go towards services that are already covered by existing NHS funds. Instead, through the local society lotteries’ partner charity, the Peoples Health Trust, the monies raised will be distributed across all areas of Great Britain to health related good causes that are the most important to local communities within each of those areas. This enables every single part of Great Britain gets a share of the pot.

The Health Lottery is run by the Northern & Shell media company which owns Express newspapers, Channel 5 and OK! magazine. Northern & Shell was founded back in 1974 and over the next 25 years developed a broad portfolio of magazines and broadcast interests. They became better known after their take over of Express Newspapers in November 2000 and again 10 years later when they acquired Channel 5.

How to Play the Health Lottery

You can take part in The Health Lottery as long as you are aged 16 or over and a resident of Great Britain. Tickets can be purchased from both offline retailers or online, with the latter option being the safest as by playing online, there is no risk that you will lose a ticket or forget to claim your winnings. To play you will need to select 5 main numbers from the range 1 to 50, or use Quick Pick option (their version of lucky-dip) which will generate a random selection of numbers for you. You can also select to enter the same numbers for up to eight consecutive draws in advance if you wish to do so.

In order to win a prize, you will need to match three or more of your numbers. All the prize levels have fixed values, as follows:

Match 3 numbers to win £50

Match 4 numbers to win £500

Match 5 numbers to win £100,000

The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 : 214

Unlike the National Lottery, with the Health Lottery you know exactly the amount you could win each draw never changes. the downside is that there are no rollovers. The upside is that the top prize is never shared, even if more than one person wins it. Match all five of your selections and no matter how many other players do the same, you are guaranteed to win £100,000.

Claiming A Health Lottery Prize

If you play the Health Lottery offline and win a prize of £50, you can claim your prize directly from a Health Lottery retailer, but if you are lucky enough to win a £500 or £100,000 prize, you will have to call the Health Lottery helpline number. You will find the number printed on the reverse of your ticket. For those playing online and win £50 or £500 will have their prize credited to their account automatically, leaving you to only have to make a formal claim for the top prize of £100,000.

Lotto – How to play, where to play and how best to win

The UK Lotto is the most popular lottery game in the United Kingdom and is run by the National Lottery. To play, you select 6 numbers from a possible 49. Match them all and you win the jackpot, or a share of it if others also have the same numbers. As well as the six main numbers, a ‘bonus ball’ number is drawn. The bonus number only comes into effect for those players who only match 5 of the 6 main numbers. A player who can match 5 of the 6 main numbers and whose sixth number is the same as the bonus ball wins the second largest prize. Prizes are also paid out to anyone matching just 3, 4 or 5 of the main numbers. Overall, the odds of winning one of the prizes are 1 in 54. The odds of winning the jackpot however are almost 1 in 14 million.

Playing Lotto Offline

To play Lotto offline you need to visit a participating retailer and select your 6 numbers using a Lotto payslip. You are then given a Lotto ticket showing your selected numbers and the draw date selected. You can also select to have random ‘lucky dip’ numbers. Retailers can also provide you with a Fast Pay Card. This is a quick and easy way to buy your lottery tickets providing you want the same numbers each week. Fast Pay Cards store up to 7 Lotto lines. Purchasing Lotto tickets this way require you to check the results against your numbers and make a claim. Not checking or losing your ticket will result in you missing out on any possible winnings. The only way to avoid such a scenario is to purchase your tickets online.

Playing Lotto Online

You can do this through the National Lottery. Buying your Lotto tickets online means you’ll never lose a ticket and you will always be advised should you have a winning ticket and therefore don’t have to check the results each week.

Free Results Service

Buying tickets online may not suit everyone as many players like to buy their tickets offline. The main advantage to buying your tickets online is that you’ll never lose one. Also, you’ll never have to check the results, as The National Lottery will email you to tell you if you’ve won.

If you do buy your tickets online then you should sign up to our free results email service at the bottom of this page. Make sure you don’t become a statistical one in 250 people who win a lottery prize and don’t claim it.

Of course, if you register with FreeNationalLotteryTickets you will not only be able to get free tickets* for all 4 Lotto and EuroMillions draws each week, but you will never miss out if your numbers came up as we will let you know.

National Lottery co uk

National Lottery co uk is what a lot of people enter into search engines when they are looking for information about the UK National Lottery. National Lottery co uk launched in 1994 and searches for National Lottery co uk will bring up quite a few results. People searching for National Lottery co uk could be looking for anything to do with the National Lottery. It could be results for Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball or any of the other available National Lottery co uk games. They may wish to open a National Lottery co uk online account and play online, or simply read up on the latest jackpot winner.

If you are one of these people and have consequently discovered FreeNationalLotteryTickets.co.uk, then why not sign up and get free National Lottery Tickets* for the next 4 draws! Once you’ve become a member you can find out how to get free National Lottery tickets for all the Lotto and EuroMillions draws. There’s no catches, no signing up fee and no ongoing costs. It really is all FREE.

Find out how Free National Lottery Tickets works or go straight to the sign up page.

As well as free tickets, at FreeNationalLotteryTickets.co.uk has all the information you need to know about the UK National Lottery (see our menu below).

Those of you who searched on National Lottery co uk to play online click here.

As well as introducing a national lottery game to the UK, The National Lottery were instrumental in bring us the EuroMillions game which was introduced in the UK in 2004. They are also involved in developing with others a new Worldwide Lottery, which when launched will have jackpots that will totally eclipse those we see today.

If you were looking to find out who operates the National Lottery when you put in the search term National Lottery co uk you can find all you need here (http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk)

Claiming A Lottery Prize

Information on how to go about claiming prizes won on a National Lottery game or with the Health Lottery. From the lowest prize right up to a jackpot.

For Prizes Up To £100

Lottery prizes of up to £100 can be claimed directly from your National Lottery retailer on presentation of a valid winning ticket.

For Prizes Over £100 And Up To £500

It is at the discretion of the National Lottery retailer whether or not to pay out against prizes from £100 to £500. If your retailer is unable to do so you can go to another retailer, or to a National Lottery Post Office.

For Prizes Up To £50,000

National Lottery Post Offices will pay out on prizes up to a value of £50,000 upon presentation of a valid winning ticket, a completed claims form and proof of identity. Claims forms can be found at any National Lottery retailer. The maximum cash payout against a winning ticket is £500. Any balance would be paid by cheque.

For Prizes Over £50,000

Again, to claim a prize over £50,000 you are required to complete a claim form and provide proof of identity. Winnings can be presented at a National Lottery Regional Centre, at your home, or at another mutually agreed location.

Claims By Post

It is possible to claim prizes up to £50,000 by post. To do so you must send your winning ticket and completed prize claim form (for all prizes in excess of £500) to The National Lottery Accounts Dept P.O. Box 287WatfordWD18 9TT

The responsibility for getting your ticket to The National Lottery is yours so we recommend that you use a ‘special delivery’ postal service or one similar with sufficient insurance to cover any loss.

Click here to find your nearest Post Office

Winners have up to 180 days after the relevant draw in which to make their claim. Any prize not claimed within the allowable period will be forfeited and the funds given to Good Causes

Information On How To Claim A Prize Won On The Health Lottery Game

If you play the Health Lottery offline and win a prize of £50, you can claim your prize directly from a Health Lottery retailer, but if you are lucky enough to win a £500 or £100,000 prize, you will have to call the Health Lottery helpline number. You will find the number printed on the reverse of your ticket. For those playing online and win £50 or £500 will have their prize credited to their account automatically, leaving you to only have to make a formal claim for the top prize of £100,000.