Saturday Night Lotto Draws Make Online Transition
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 14:09
Saturday’s Lotto draw on 7th January made history as the first of its kind not to be scheduled for live television, with its new home becoming the BBC iPlayer and fans instead going online to access coverage of the balls being drawn.
Live draws have been a Saturday night tradition since the National Lottery was launched, but other games such as EuroMillions are not shown live on UK television and Wednesday Lotto draws have not been broadcast since 2012.
A joint decision was taken in November to switch the Saturday show to a digital platform based on changes in viewers’ behaviour. The draws can still be seen through YouTube and Facebook, taking place at 8.30pm, and there are a multitude of other ways for players to find out the winning numbers after the balls have been drawn.
Saturday night’s draw ended in a rollover as nobody matched all six main numbers, pushing the Lotto jackpot up to £7.3 million for the next game on Wednesday. A huge EuroMillions top prize of £39 million is also up for grabs on Tuesday, making it a great time for players to try and kick off 2017 in fine style. Tickets can be bought online or from authorised retailers. Good luck!
