Wednesday’s Lotto Jackpot Must be Won
Last Updated: Monday 22nd May 2017, 15:47
At least one player is guaranteed to win this Wednesday’s Lotto jackpot after the top prize exceeded its cap.The jackpot, which currently stands at an estimated £24.7 million, rolled over for a tenth consecutive draw on Saturday, resulting in a ‘must-win’ situation ahead of the upcoming draw.
Following the introduction of fresh rules regarding the jackpot, first introduced in the summer of 2016, Lotto’s top prize is permitted to reach a maximum of £22 million. Once the jackpot has reached this cap, it is allowed to roll over once more before it must be won in the next draw. Despite a last ditch attempt to win the game’s premium prize on Saturday evening, the jackpot could not be captured.
This means that, if no ticket holder(s) is able to match all six numbers in this Wednesday’s draw, the prize will roll down and could be claimed by players in one of the lower prize tiers. As a result, Lotto lovers could be six-times more likely to win the jackpot as odds plummet from over one in 45 million to just one in 7.5 million.
This will be the Lotto jackpot cap’s debut appearance in 2017 and the first time it has taken effect since the draw on Saturday 31st December 2016, when a top prize of over £26.4 million was claimed by a single ticket holder who managed to correctly match five numbers and the Bonus Ball. In fact, this will be the fourth time the cap has been called on since its introduction to the game, with draws in September and October of last year also producing ‘must win’ jackpots.
National Lottery officials are expecting a busy few days as hopefuls snap up their tickets in preparation for the upcoming draw. A spokesman for Camelot told the Telegraph: “When the jackpot gets bigger, that drives sales. More and more people either buy extra lines, or occasional players might buy a ticket. And when it’s a must-be-won jackpot, we see sales increase. More and more people get excited.”
So, if you fancy your chances of securing a big win this midweek, you can play online or take part via any authorised retailer across the country. Best of luck!