Lotto Events

Saturday 3rd August - A £15 million Must Be Won draw took place to mark Super Saturday of the Paris Olympics. Nobody matched all the numbers, but more than 1.7 million players did see their prizes enhanced.

Thursday 1st February - Allwyn officially took over as operator of the National Lottery, following 30 years with Camelot at the helm. A number of ‘exciting initiatives’ were promised, and the first big Lotto event was a Must Be Won draw on 2nd March.

Saturday 23rd and 30th December - Just like the previous year, the Lotto jackpot was bumped up to £15 million for both the pre-Christmas and pre-New Year draws. A single ticket holder won the lot on 23rd December, while the jackpot rolled down on 30th December.

Saturday 5th August 2023 - The National Lottery ran a ‘Match 3 Boost Event’ in this draw, doubling the prize for everyone who matched three numbers from £30 to £60.

Saturday 6th May - Millions of players were royally rewarded in a special draw to celebrate King Charles’ coronation. The £20 million jackpot rolled down, boosting every prize tier considerably, including a £278 prize for matching four numbers.

Saturday 24th and 31st December - The festive period brought lots of cheer to Lotto players, with £15 million Must Be Won Draws on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Both jackpots rolled down, creating bigger prizes than normal for millions of ticket holders.

Saturday 4th June - A special ‘Jubilee Jackpot’ of £20 million was put up for grabs to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign. One lucky ticket holder matched all the numbers to pocket the whole prize.

Saturday 6th November - An enhanced jackpot of £20 million was split among everyone who matched at least two numbers, including seven players in the Match 5 + Bonus category.

Saturday 4th September - To celebrate the Olympics and Paralympics, the National Lottery organised a draw where the jackpot had to be won and was worth £20 million. As there were no entries that matched all the main numbers, the jackpot money was spread between all the other prize winners.

Saturday 17th July - This special summer event saw the jackpot pushed up to £20 million for a Must Be Won draw. The jackpot rolled down to more than 1.5 million players when nobody won the top prize.

Saturday 22nd May - A Must Be Won draw was held with a jackpot of £20 million. No tickets matched all the numbers, so the entire jackpot prize fund rolled down to other tiers. More than 1.5 million ticket holders benefited, including one player who matched five numbers plus the Bonus to land £1.38 million.

Saturday 6th March - The jackpot was increased to £20 million for this Must Be Won draw. The top prize rolled down and was split between more than 1.6 million players, who all received larger payouts than the regular fixed prizes.

Saturday 9th January - A special £20 million Must Be Won draw took place and a single ticket holder matched all the numbers. This made them the game’s biggest winner for more than two and a half years.

Saturday 5th September - The National Lottery ran a series of special draws as part of a ‘Big September’ promotion, and increased the Lotto jackpot to £20 million for this event. It was also a Must Be Won draw, so there was a rolldown when nobody matched all the numbers. More than 198,000 players ended up landing larger prizes than they would normally have received.

Saturday 27th June - The jackpot was pushed up to £15 million for a special draw in which the prize money had to be won. Two ticket holders matched all the numbers, so there was no rolldown, but a slice of history was created as it was the first time ever that two Must Be Won draws had been held back-to-back.

Wednesday 25th December - The National Lottery held a special Christmas Lotto draw with a guaranteed £15 million jackpot that had to be won.

Saturday 23rd November - The National Lottery's 25th Birthday was celebrated with a £25 million guaranteed Must Be Won jackpot.

Saturday 24th August - The first ever Lotto 'Double Prize Event' draw took place, in which thousands of Lotto players across the country won double the usual prize amount.

Saturday 4th May - Held to mark the early May bank holiday, this draw saw players win £100 for matching three numbers, instead of the usual prize of £30.

Sunday 18th November - Changes were made to the prize structure, bringing bigger cash prizes for Match 3, Match 4, Match 5 and Match 5 + Bonus. 'Must Be Won' Rolldown draws were introduced, meaning the jackpot could only roll over five times. The Lotto Millionaire Raffle game ended, allowing bigger cash prizes to be offered in the main game.

Saturday 23rd December - Lotto offered an extra 200 prizes of £20,000 in its Lotto Christmas Raffle extravaganza.

December – There were 200 additional second tier Lotto Millionaire Raffle prizes of £20,000 given away on 24th December, followed by 100 extra prizes of £20,000 on 31st December.

Saturday 15th October – The last National Lottery television game show, 5-Star Family Reunion, came to an end after two series.

Saturday 27th August - There were 27 extra £1 million prizes, 23 worth £100,000 and 17 of £50,000 to celebrate the number of gold, silver and bronze medals won by Team GB at the Rio Olympics.

Wednesday 6th April - A player picked up £35.1 million, the largest prize won by a single ticket holder in the history of the game. They decided to remain anonymous.

Saturday 9th January - The record Lotto jackpot of £66 million was shared between David and Carol Martin of Hawick in the Scottish Borders and an anonymous player from Worcester, both receiving £33 million.

Thursday 8th October – Changes were made to the game, including the addition of ten more balls to the pool, taking the total to 59. Lotto Millionaire Raffle took over from Lotto Raffle, guaranteeing at least one £1 million winner in each draw. The rollover limit of four was removed, with an initial moveable jackpot cap of £50 million introduced. A prize of a Lotto Lucky Dip ticket was introduced for matching two numbers. To mark the changes, a Lotto Millionaire draw giving away 25 prizes of £1 million was held on 10th October.

Wednesday 24th December - The Christmas Raffle 2014 put up an extra 450 prizes than usual, guaranteeing that 500 players would win £20,000 each.

Saturday 4th January - A Must Be Won draw was held after the jackpot rolled over four times in a row. Nobody matched all the numbers, so 23 players in the Match 5 + Bonus category shared more than £13 million. A special Lotto Raffle promotion also gave away 250 prizes of £20,000.

Wednesday 25th December - The first special Christmas event was held, with 500 winning codes drawn in the Lotto Raffle instead of the usual 50.

Saturday 5th October - A number of changes were introduced, including an increase in the prize for matching three balls, from £10 to £25. The price of a Lotto line rose to £2 from £1. Lotto Raffle was also launched, offering at least 50 prizes of £20,000 in each draw. The next two Saturday draws after the launch had 1,000 winning codes.

Saturday 29th September - A Must Be Won draw was held after the first-ever quadruple rollover. The jackpot was worth £19 million and five players matched all the numbers to scoop £3.9 million each.

Thursday 10th February -A new rollover limit of four was introduced to the game. Previously it had only been possible for the top prize to roll three times before the total had to be won in the following draw.

Saturday 17th November 2007 – The first episode of Who Dares Wins was broadcast. Hosted by Nick Knowles, it saw players declare how many correct answers they could list for a certain question. Opponents would then increase the bid or dare them to play. The show continued to run even after National Lottery game shows ended.

Friday 24th December 2004 – The jackpot was increased to £15 million for a special Christmas Lotto draw, which took place on Friday rather than Saturday. Three players split the money, each picking up a cheque for £5 million.

Saturday 29th May 2004 – The first-ever triple rollover draw was held, almost ten years after the game launched. Six players shared a top prize of more than £22 million, which was the highest the jackpot had been since January 2000.

Saturday 18th May 2002 - The first draw took place under the game's new name of Lotto. It had been called the National Lottery up until this point. To mark the occasion, a new game show, In It to Win It, presented by Dale Winton, was launched. The show would go on to air for 18 series.

Wednesday 5th February 1997 - A Wednesday draw was introduced to the game, giving players a second chance to take part every week.

Saturday 6th January 1996 - Three players shared a £42 million jackpot, which would remain the game's record top prize for 20 years.

Saturday 10th June 1995 - Business partners Paul Maddison and Mark Gardiner from St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex won £22.5 million, which held the record for the largest prize won on a single ticket until 2016.

Saturday 19th November 1994 - The National Lottery was launched in a television programme hosted by Noel Edmonds. The jackpot of £5.8 million was shared by seven ticket holders, each winning £839,254.