UK Lotto Prizes
To win a prize in the UK Lotto, you must match the numbers on your ticket with those drawn in the lottery. You pick six numbers from a choice of 59 and must match at least two of them to win a prize. Anyone who matches all six will win the jackpot.
The jackpot starts at £2 million on a Wednesday and £3.8 million on a Saturday. It can roll over a maximum of five times in a row before it must be won. If there are still no Match 6 winners after the fifth consecutive rollover, the jackpot funds will be split between players in the Match 2 prize tier..
UK Lotto Prize Tiers and Odds of Winning
All prize amounts are fixed. If you match two main numbers you will receive £1, while there are prizes of £10, £50 and £1,000 available for matching three, four, or five main numbers.
A Bonus Ball is taken from the same pool of numbers after the six main balls have been dispensed. If you match five of the main numbers plus this Bonus Ball, you will win £1 million.
As there are two rounds per draw night, it gives you two chances of winning. The numbers on your ticket are automatically entered into both rounds and you can win prizes in either round, or even both!
You cannot combine matches to make a win or create a bigger prize. For example, matching two numbers in Round 1 and another two numbers in Round 2 would give you two prizes of £1, not a Match 4 win worth £50.
The table below shows the prizes on offer and the odds of winning each one:
| Numbers to Match | Odds of Winning | Prize Value |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Numbers (jackpot) | 1 in 22,528,738 | Jackpot |
| 5 Numbers + Bonus Ball | 1 in 3,754,790 | £1,000,000 (fixed) |
| 5 Numbers | 1 in 72,208 | £ 1,000 (fixed) |
| 4 Numbers | 1 in 1,091 | £50 (fixed) |
| 3 Numbers | 1 in 48.4 | £10 (fixed) |
| 2 Numbers | 1 in 5.4 | £1 (fixed) |
| Odds of winning any UK Lotto prize are approximately 1 in 4.9. | ||
If the jackpot rolls over for five consecutive draw nights, a ‘Must Be Won’ draw is held when the jackpot is guaranteed to be paid out. If there are no Match 6 winners, in either Round 1 or Round 2 of the Must Be Won draw, the jackpot funds roll down. All the Match 2 winners therefore receive £5, while Match 3 winners may also get an enhanced prize if there are remaining funds.
A jackpot cap had previously been in place before the rollover limit was introduced in November 2018. The biggest UK Lotto win to date came on 9th January 2016, when two winning tickets shared a £66,070,646 jackpot. Each player received just over £33 million. Over a month later, a single participant won an amazing £32.5 million on Saturday 13th February.
You can also win £1 million when Guaranteed Raffle draws take place. These raffles are held from time to time and put up a number of £1 million prizes. A raffle code is automatically generated on your ticket when one of these special draws is scheduled, and you have to match one of the winning codes exactly in order to win.
Prizes are tax-free for UK residents, although anyone playing from overseas is advised to check with financial experts in order to work out whether a UK Lotto win will bring them any tax implications in their own country.
