National Lottery
From WIN-ipedia - information and strategies about winning
The National Lottery is the UK's largest lottery. It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the franchise was granted in 1994. The lottery is regulated by The National Lottery Commission. The National Lottery undertook a rebranding programme in 2002 in order to combat falling sales. This resulted in the main game being renamed Lotto. However, the games as a collective are still known as The National Lottery. It is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom.
All prizes are paid as a lump sum and are tax-free. Of every £1 spent on Lottery games, 50 pence goes to the prize fund, 28p to good causes, 12p to the British Government as duty and 5p going to retailers as commission, while Camelot receives 4.5p to cover operating costs and 0.5p profit [1].
There are eleven different machines that can be used for the Lotto draw. Which machine is used is selected at random, and is announced just prior to the draw. The machine are Merlin, Arthur, Galahad, Vyvyan, Lancelot, Garnet, Topaz, Opal, Amethyst, Moonstone and Pearl.
Several games operate under the National Lottery brand:
Contents |
Lotto
Six numbers are drawn from a range of 1–49, as well as a further bonus ball. Players choose six different numbers. Prizes are awarded for three to six matches of the six, along with five matches and a match for the bonus ball. Anyone matching all six balls wins the jackpot.
The chance of matching all 6 numbers is 1 in 13,983,816.
A draw is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Saturday draws started on November 19, 1994, under the name 'National Lottery'. The first Wednesday draw was on February 5, 1997. All draws are shown on BBC One.
The Lotto prize fund is 45 percent of draw sales. Camelot state that the 3 ball prize winners are calculated first, these receive £10 each; the remaining prize fund is then divided as shown in the table below and split equally with the number of winners for each selection:
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 3 numbers | £10 | 1: 57 |
| 4 numbers | 2% of remaining fund | 1: 1,032 |
| 5 numbers | 10% of remaining fund | 1: 55,491 |
| 5 numbers and bonus ball | 16% of remaining fund | 1: 2,330,636 |
| 6 numbers | 52% of remaining fund | 1: 13,983,816 |
Lotto Extra
Launched on 13 November 2000, players playing the main Lotto draw had the option to enter the Lotto Extra draw at the same time with the same six numbers. The price for including Lotto Extra on a ticket was an additional £1 per entry. Six numbers were drawn from a range of 1–49. If you matched all six balls you win the jackpot; the chance of doing so was 1 in 13,983,816. There were no other prizes. If no one matched all six numbers the jackpot rolled over until it was won or reached £50 million, when, if no one matched all six then the prize would roll down to players matching five, if none then four, if none then three, etc.
The game was rebranded 'Lotto Extra' from the launch name of 'Lottery Extra' at the same time as the main game. Following poor sales for the 'Lotto Extra', Camelot retired the game on Saturday July 8th 2006.
Lotto Hot Picks
Lotto Hotpicks uses the main Lotto draw for its numbers, but differs in how the players' numbers are chosen. While in both Lotto and Lotto Extra six numbers are chosen and prizes are available on partial matches, in Hot Picks the player chooses fewer numbers, but must match all of them to win. The odds and payouts are:
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 number | £5 | 1: 9 |
| 2 numbers | £40 | 1: 79 |
| 3 numbers | £450 | 1: 922 |
| 4 numbers | £7 000 | 1: 14,126 |
| 5 numbers | £130 000 | 1: 317,814 |
Thunderball
Thunderball was launched on June 7, 1999. For an entry fee of £1, players pick five main numbers from 1 to 34 and one 'Thunderball' number from 1 to 14.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 + Thunderball | £5 | 1: 33 |
| 2 + Thunderball | £10 | 1: 107 |
| 3 numbers | £10 | 1: 74 |
| 3 + Thunderball | £20 | 1: 960 |
| 4 numbers | £100 | 1: 2,067 |
| 4 + Thunderball | £250 | 1: 26,866 |
| 5 numbers | £5 000 | 1: 299,661 |
| 5 + Thunderball | £250 000 | 1: 3,895,584 |
Dream Number
Dream Number was launched on July 15, 2006 to replace the Lotto Extra game. Dream Number involves generating a random seven digit number for entry into the draw. It can be played independently of Lotto, or if played with Lotto one Dream Number is generated per ticket, not per lotto entry. A dream number is automatically printed on every lotto ticket bought, whether the player has chosen to enter it into the draw or not. Unlike other Lotto games, it is not possible to choose the number entered, and the order that the numbers are drawn is important, since the numbers must be matched in order for the player to win. All money raised for good causes from Dream Number will go towards the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st number only | £2 | 1: 11.12 |
| 1st 2 numbers | £10 | 1: 111.12 |
| 1st 3 numbers | £100 | 1: 1,111.2 |
| 1st 4 numbers | £500 | 1: 11,112 |
| 1st 5 numbers | £5 000 | 1: 111,112 |
| 1st 6 numbers | £50 000 | 1: 1,111,112 |
| all 7 numbers | £500 000 | 1: 10,000,000 |
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 10.
Source: National Lottery Players Guide
Scratchcards
As well as draw tickets, the National Lottery sells scratchcards.
These are small cards with an area covered by a thin layer of opaque latex that can be scratched off. Under this area are concealed the items/pictures that must be found in order to win.
The generic scratchcard requires the player to match three of the same prize amounts. If this is accomplished, they win that amount, the highest possible being £100,000. Other scratchcards involve matching symbols, pictures or words.
The majority of National Lottery scratchcards are sold for £1. Larger scratchcards with two or more chances to win or a larger than usual maximum cash prize, for example £250,000, cost £2. There are also scratchcards available for £5.
Daily Play
The Daily Play draw can be played every day but Sunday & Christmas Day. By selecting 7 numbers between 1 and 27, players can win anything from a free lucky-dip to £30,000. The draw is known well for giving its players the chance to win a free daily play lucky-dip for not matching any numbers in the draw.
The draw currently has no live broadcast however it did have a slot on the television channel Challenge.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 numbers | £1 Daily Play Lucky Dip Ticket | 1: 11.5 |
| 4 numbers | £5 | 1: 22.3 |
| 5 numbers | £30 | 1: 222.6 |
| 6 numbers | £300 | 1: 6,343.1 |
| 7 numbers | £30 000 | 1: 888,030 |
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 7.4
Source: National Lottery Daily Play Game Rules & Procedures
EuroMillions
On Saturday 7 February, 2004, Camelot launched a pan-european lottery: EuroMillions. The first draw took place on Friday 13 February, 2004 in Paris. The UK, France and Spain were involved. Lotteries from Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland joined the draw on 8 October, 2004. The draws are currently made in Paris, and shown in the UK on the channel Challenge.
The odds of winning the Jackpot is 1 in 76,275,360.
Good Causes
The National Lottery has so far raised £17 billion for good causes.
28% of lottery revenue goes towards the good causes fund, along with all unclaimed prizes. Additionally, 12% goes to the state. The prize fund is 50% of revenue, with the remaining 10% going towards running costs and profits for the lottery organisers and ticket sellers.
The distribution of money to good causes is not the responsibility of the operator (Camelot). It is the responsibility of The National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), administered by the government Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Unclaimed prizes
Winning tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the draw taking place. If a prize is unclaimed within that time, it is distributed through the Lotto's Good Causes fund. The highest unclaimed prize distributed this way to date was a winning ticket worth £9,476,995, which expired at 17.30 GMT on Monday, 2 January 2006 [2]. This ticket was the 24th prize in excess of one million pounds to be unclaimed.
Regulation
The National Lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission - a non-departmental public body reporting to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
The Lottery was set up in 1993 under the National Lottery etc Act 1993 ([3]) and was reformed under the National Lottery Act 1998 ([4]) and the National Lottery Act 2006 ([5])
