Exciting UK Lotto Changes Announced From November 2018
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 14:19
The National Lottery have announced exciting new changes to Lotto and EuroMillions, as well as the introduction of a brand new annuity game called Set For Life. The Lotto updates are set to be introduced later this year, with tickets expected to go on sale on Sunday 18th November ahead of the first draw with the new alterations on Wednesday 21st November. Find out more about the changes below, and what you can look forward to as a dedicated Lotto player.
The changes have been introduced following correspondence and research between The National Lottery and its customers, players and retailers. They say they have listened to feedback about what players are wanting, resulting in games with bigger prizes and jackpots that are won more often. The changes are also expected to raise more money for the Good Causes fund.
More Jackpot Winners in Lotto
One of the biggest Lotto changes will be that, from November, four of the six prize tiers are set to change, becoming bigger, fixed prizes for all players. These new prize tiers are set to replace the supplementary Lotto Raffle draw.
The jackpot can still be won by matching all six main numbers, which will always increase in value until it has been won. However, the prize for matching five main numbers and the Bonus Ball will increase in value from an estimated £50,000 to £1 million. You can look forward to a fixed prize of £1,750 if you match five numbers, considerably more than the current estimated value of £1,000.
Likewise with matching four and three main numbers, the cash prizes will be fixed at £140 and £30 respectively, bigger prizes than the winnings currently available. You can still look forward to receiving a free Lucky Dip for matching two main numbers.
The guaranteed minimum jackpots available in Lotto are set to change from November too, increasing from £1.8 million to £2 million for Wednesday draws, and from £3.1 million to £3.8 million for Saturday draws. It is estimated that, when Must Be Won draws are held, the jackpot will be roughly £11 million on a Wednesday and £12 million on a Saturday.
Bigger Lotto Prizes Are Coming
Furthermore, the jackpot will only be able to roll over for a maximum of five draws before it has to be won. This means the jackpot will be won on a much more frequent basis. The jackpot can currently roll over an unlimited amount of times until it reaches its £22 million jackpot cap.
The introduction of Jackpot Rolldowns will also mean that, if no one matches all six main numbers to win the top prize in the ‘Must Be Won’ draw, the full amount will be shared between all cash winners in the Match 3, 4, 5 and 5 + Bonus prize tiers. This will boost everyone’s winnings, with each tier given a set percentage of the jackpot. For example, you could be walking away with £260 for matching four main numbers instead of £140.
The cost of entering Lotto will remain at £2 per line, and you will still be required to pick six main numbers between 1 and 59. The odds of winning a prize will also remain unchanged, and the supplementary Lotto HotPicks game will also stay the same.
EuroMillions Changes Announced Too
There have also been changes announced for EuroMillions, with more special draws scheduled to come into play from spring 2019. There will be one Millionaire Maker winner of £1 million in every draw, rather than the current two winners, and more events throughout the course of the year offering some big prizes. The first special draw is set to take place in spring 2019, with 40 UK millionaires crowned in one draw, with many more planned in 2019.
A new annuity game is also set to be released in 2019, offering jackpot winners regular payments over a set number of years. The top prize available is expected to be thousands of pounds paid to winners every month for a minimum of 25 years. Further details are expected to be released in due course.
More information is set to be released soon about this exciting Lotto and EuroMillions changes, so keep an eye on our News section for all the latest. In the meantime, you can join a syndicate ahead of tomorrow’s EuroMillions draw for £40 million and Wednesday’s Lotto draw for £9.2 million.
