The UK National Lottery was launched in November 1994. The main UK National Lottery game is the Lotto, and this is a 6 from 49 game that takes place every Wednesday and Saturday. To play the game, you need to select 6 numbers from the range 1 to 49 and if all of your selections are drawn as main numbers you win the jackpot. If you don’t want to pick your own numbers you can opt for a ‘Lucky Dip’ entry, which is a randomly generated selection of six numbers.
If two or more players match all six main numbers then the Lotto jackpot is shared equally between the winners. Should no player match all six main numbers then the jackpot is rolled over to the next draw, and if a handful of consecutive rollovers take place the jackpot can quickly reach £10 million and more.
When the UK National Lottery game takes place, a total of seven numbers are drawn. The first six numbers are the ‘main’ numbers which determine the winner of the UK National Lottery jackpot. The seventh ball is a ‘bonus ball’ and this is used to determine the winners of the second-tier prize.
Living outside the UK
If you don't live in the UK, don't worry, you can use the lottery ticket concierge service to buy your tickets by clicking ht elink above. You get a scan of the ticket as proof that it has been bought for you.
Living in the UK
The UK National Lottery has five prize tiers in all and the table below shows the numbers that are required to win each level and the odds of you doing so.
Prize Tier |
Numbers to Match |
Odds Of Winning |
Jackpot |
6 main numbers |
1 in 13,983,816 |
2nd Tier |
5 main numbers + Bonus ball |
1 in 2,330,636 |
3rd Tier |
5 main numbers |
1 in 55,492 |
4th Tier |
4 main numbers |
1 in 1,033 |
5th Tier |
3 main numbers |
1 in 57 |
The overall odds of winning any prize when playing the main UK National Lottery game are 1 in 54.
Other National Lottery Games
In addition to the Lotto game as described above, there are several other UK National Lottery games that can be played. The most popular of these are as follows:
Thunderball
The Thunderball game takes place every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and offers a top prize of £500,000. Players must select 5 main numbers from the range 1 to 39 and 1 ‘Thunderball’ from the range 1 to 14. Any player who matches all five main numbers and the Thunderball wins the £500,000 top prize. In addition, there are eight other prize levels, so plenty of consolation prizes are available to players who match some but not all of the Thunderball numbers.
Daily Play
As the name suggests, Daily Play is a UK National Lottery game that takes place every day except on Sundays. Players have to select 7 numbers from the range 1 to 27, and prizes are paid to players who match 4 or more numbers. The top prize for matching all 7 Daily Play numbers is £30,000.
Dream Number
Dream Number is a UK National Lottery game that assigns a seven digit number to players at random – no personal selection of numbers is involved. To win prizes, players must match one or more of the digits in order. The more digits a player matches in order, the more they win. The top prize – which is won by matching all seven digits in order – is worth £500,000.
Although all UK National Lottery games are great to play, the main Lotto game is by far the most popular. In fact, it’s so popular that many players who do not even live in the UK choose to participate by buying tickets online.