The UK National Lottery was launched in November 1994 as a 6 from 59 lottery game which has now been re-branded as Lotto. Draws take place twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with Saturday’s results broadcast live on BBC television. In addition to the main Lotto game, the UK lottery operator also offers a range of secondary draws and scratchcard games.
UK National Lottery
How to play the UK National Lottery
Playing Lotto is as easy as selecting six numbers from 1 to 59 and buying a ticket, whilst deciding whether you wish to enter the Wednesday draw, the Saturday draw or both.
To win the Lotto jackpot, a player needs to match all six numbers. The top prize can grow beyond £55 million, and a record jackpot of £66 million was shared between two ticket holders in January 2016.
There are five other ways to win in addition to the jackpot, with prizes available for matching as few as two main numbers. A Bonus Ball is also drawn from the remaining 53 balls after all the main numbers have been announced, giving players who had matched five main numbers the chance to increase the value of their prize.
The following table shows the odds of winning in each of the six prize tiers.
Numbers Matched |
Odds of Winning |
6 Main Numbers |
1 in 45,057,474 |
5 Main Numbers + Bonus Ball |
1 in 7,509,579 |
5 Main Numbers |
1 in 144,415 |
4 Main Numbers |
1 in 2,180 |
3 Main Numbers |
1 in 97 |
2 Main Numbers |
1 in 10.3 |
Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 9.3
Claiming UK Lotto Prizes
All UK National Lottery tickets are valid for up to 180 days from the date the draw took place. Any claim made more than 180 days after the draw will be declared void, so it is important that a claim is registered for any win as soon as possible. If you buy your tickets online with the World Lottery organisation concierge service, you will automatically be notified of any win and your claim processed quickly, so there is no chance of you missing the 180-day deadline and losing out.