The UK National Lottery was launched in November 1994 as a 6 from 49 lottery game which has now been re-branded as the Lotto. Draws take place twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and draws are usually broadcast live on BBC television. In addition to the main Lotto game, the UK lottery operator also offers a range of secondary draws and scratchcard games.
UK National Lottery
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How to play the UK National Lottery
Playing the UK National Lottery game is as easy as selecting six numbers from the range 1 to 49 and buying a ticket. Because draws take place twice a week, it is important to state whether you want to enter your numbers for the Wednesday draw or the Saturday draw. Both games can offer huge prizes, but in general the Saturday draw tends to offer a bigger jackpot prize.
To win the UK National Lottery jackpot, the player needs to match all six numbers. When the draw takes place, a seventh “Bonus Ball” is also drawn, but this is used to determine the winners of the second-tier prize level. There are five prize levels in all, and details of these are shown in the table below:
Numbers Matched |
Odds of Winning |
6 main numbers |
1 in 13,983,816 |
5 main numbers + 1 bonus |
1 in 2,330,636 |
5 main numbers |
1 in 55,492 |
4 main numbers |
1 in 1,033 |
3 main numbers |
1 in 57 |
If no player matches all six main numbers to win the jackpot, the top prize is rolled over to the next Lotto draw. There can be no more than three consecutive rollovers, after which the jackpot is instead rolled down to players matching five main numbers and the Bonus Ball number.
Making UK Lottery Claims
All UK National Lottery tickets are valid for up to 180 days from the draw taking place. Any claim made more than 180 days after the draw will be declared void, so it is important that a claim is registered for any win as soon as possible. If you buy your tickets online with the World Lottery organisation concierge service, you will automatically be notified of any win and your claim processed quickly, so there is no chance of you missing the 180 day deadline and losing out.