National Lottery (United Kingdom)
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| Region | |
|---|---|
| First draw | 19 November 1994 |
| Regulated by | Gambling Commission |
| Highest jackpot | £209,300,000 (EuroMillions) £66,070,646 (Lotto) |
| Odds of winning jackpot |
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| Number of games | 7 |
| Shown on | BBC (1994–2017) ITV (2018–present) |
| Website | www |
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery established in 1994 in the United Kingdom.[1] It is regulated by the Gambling Commission, and is operated by Allwyn Entertainment, who took over from Camelot Group (who had been running The National Lottery since its inception) on 1 February 2024.
Prizes are paid as a lump sum (with the exception of Set For Life and Powerball which is paid over a set period) and are tax-free. Of all money spent on National Lottery games, around 53% goes to the prize fund and 25% to "good causes"[2] as set out by Parliament (though some of this is considered by some to be a form of "stealth tax"[3] levied to support the National Lottery Community Fund, a fund constituted to support public spending).[4] 12% goes to the UK government as lottery duty, 4% to retailers as commission, and a total of 5% to the operator,[2] with 4% to cover operating costs and 1% as profit.[5]
Since 22 April 2021, players must be 18 years of age to purchase lottery tickets and scratchcards (online and in-store).[6] Previously, the minimum age was 16.[7]
History
[edit]Background
[edit]A statute of 1698 provided that in England lotteries were by default illegal unless specifically authorised by statute. State lotteries were established by the Bank of England to generate money for 'good causes' and also to enable Britain to go to war.[8] Early English state lotteries included the Million Lottery (1694) and the Malt Lottery (1697).
The final lottery occurred on 18 October 1826 with a prize fund of almost £1.5 million; it was the 170th state lottery to be held since 1694.[9]
A 1934 Act, further liberalised in 1956 and 1976, legalised small lotteries.
20th century
[edit]A National Health Service Lottery was piloted in 1988 but cancelled for legal reasons before the first draw.
The UK's state-franchised lottery was set up under government licence by the government of John Major in 1993 through the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.[10] The National Lottery was franchised to a private operator; the Camelot Group was awarded the franchise on 25 May 1994.[11] The proportion of the population spending 10% or more of their total income on gambling products increased from 0.4% to 1.7% after the introduction of the National Lottery.[12]
The first draw took place on 19 November 1994 with a television programme presented by Noel Edmonds. The first numbers drawn were 30, 3, 5, 44, 14 and 22, the bonus was 10, and seven jackpot winners shared a prize of £5,874,778.[13]
| National Lottery Act 1998 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Long title | An Act to make further provision in relation to the National Lottery; to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of a body corporate to be endowed out of the National Lottery Distribution Fund and to be known as the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts; and for connected purposes. | ||||||||
| Citation | 1998 c. 22 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Chris Smith MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Commons) Lord McIntosh of Haringey (Lords) | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom[c] | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 2 July 1998 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Amended | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
| Revised text of statute as amended | |||||||||
| Text of the National Lottery (United Kingdom) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |||||||||
The National Lottery Act 1998 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed to reform the National Lottery. The 1998 act created the National Lottery Commission.[14] The 1998 act established the New Opportunities Fund to provide funding for health, education and environment.[15]
A second lottery draw, Thunderball, was introduced by Camelot on 12 June 1999, which took place during the first episode of Winning Lines. The first main numbers drawn on Thunderball were 32, 8, 26, 31 and 28, and the first Thunderball number drawn was 6.[16][17]
21st century
[edit]The National Lottery undertook a major rebranding programme in May 2002, designed to combat falling sales. The main game was renamed Lotto, and Lottery Extra became Lotto Extra, though Camelot would later retire Lotto Extra on 8 July 2006 due to low sales. The stylised crossed-fingers logo was modified.[18] However, the games as a collective are still known as The National Lottery. It is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom.
| National Lottery (Funding of Endowments) Act 2003[d] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
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| Long title | An Act to make provision about the funding of endowments from distributions of money out of the National Lottery Distribution Fund; and for connected purposes. | ||||||||
| Citation | 2003 c. 23 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Keith Simpson MP (Commons) Lord Walpole (Lords) | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom[e] | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 18 September 2003 | ||||||||
| Commencement | 18 September 2003[f] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Amended | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
| Revised text of statute as amended | |||||||||
| Text of the National Lottery (United Kingdom) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |||||||||
The National Lottery (Funding of Endowments) Act 2003 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed to enable the National Lottery to establish endowment funds.[19] The definition of endowment funds includes permanent endowments.[20] It was passed as a private member's bill.[19]
| National Lottery Act 2006[g] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Long title | An Act to make provision about The National Lottery. | ||||||||
| Citation | 2006 c. 23 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Commons) Baron Davies of Oldham (Lords) | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom[h] | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 11 July 2006 | ||||||||
| Commencement | various[i] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Amended | |||||||||
| History of passage through Parliament | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
| Revised text of statute as amended | |||||||||
| Text of the National Lottery (United Kingdom) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |||||||||
The National Lottery Act 2006 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[21] It established the Big Lottery Fund, which replaced three existing distributing bodies: the Community Fund, the New Opportunity Fund and the Millennium Commission.[21] The act allowed distributors to consult and take account of public opinion when making distribution decisions and requires that the returns for good causes are maximised.[21]
Originally, the draw machines for Lotto and Lotto Extra were the Criterion model, manufactured by Beitel Lottery Products, which was acquired by Smartplay International Inc. in 1997, but on 25 October 2003, Camelot replaced them with Smartplay's Magnum I model. These machines were called Topaz, Sapphire, Amethyst, Opal, Garnet & Moonstone, while the older Criterion machines from 1994 were called Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot & Guinevere, with the addition of Vyvyan & Galahad in 2000.
On 21 November 2009, Camelot replaced its older Lotto draw machines again. The new machines have the same names of those used on earlier machines, except Vyvyan & Galahad. On 9 May 2010, new machines for the Thunderball game were introduced, replacing Smartplay's older Halogen I model that had been in use since 1999, following the major rule changes on Thunderball. The current Lotto machines are the Smartplay Magnum II model, and the current Thunderball and Set For Life machines are the Smartplay Halogen II model.[22][23] The Thunderball & Set for Life machines are all named Excalibur, named after King Arthur's sword. One of The National Lottery's original Beitel Criterion Lottery machines, Guinevere is currently on display at the Science Museum, London after being donated by Camelot in 2022.[24]
On 16 March 2018, Camelot advised more than 10 million players with online accounts to change their passwords because of a "low-level" cyber attack that affected 150 customer accounts. They claim that no money was taken from customers. Camelot claimed the hackers used a method called credential stuffing and said the attack appeared to have begun on 7 March.[25][26]
In February 2024, Allwyn Entertainment Ltd (part of the multinational KKCG company) took over all operations of The National Lottery, replacing the Camelot Group.[27][28] In March 2026, Allwyn reported that in its 2025 financial report that commissions from The National Lottery had declined 4% year-on-year, falling to €590m.[29]
Eligibility
[edit]As of 22 April 2021[update], the eligibility requirements include:
- Players must be at least 18 years old to buy scratchcards or to play Lotto, Thunderball, EuroMillions or Set For Life.[30][31]
- Tickets may be bought in person at approved premises in the UK, or online.
- Online purchase of tickets from The National Lottery website is restricted to people who have a UK bank account (for debit card or direct debit purposes), are resident in the UK or Isle of Man, and are physically present in the UK or Isle of Man when making the ticket purchase.
- The ticket purchaser for a syndicate, typically its manager, must meet the eligibility criteria for ticket purchase. Syndicate members must be aged 18 or over.
- Lottery tickets are not transferable, so commercial syndicates (i.e. where extra charges are levied over and above the total face value of the tickets purchased) are not permitted.
From introduction in November 1994 until April 2021, lottery tickets could be purchased by people at least 16 years old. Scratchcards, from introduction in March 1995 to April 2021, could also be purchased by people at least 16 years old.[6][32]
Isle of Man
[edit]The National Lottery Act 1999 is an act of Tynwald which extended the National Lottery to the Isle of Man.[33] Tickets became available on the Isle of Man in February 2000.[34]
Games
[edit]
Several games operate under The National Lottery brand:
Current games
[edit]As of July 2026, the current games include:
Lotto
[edit]Players buy tickets with their choice of six different numbers between 1 and 59; there is provision for random numbers to be generated automatically for those who do not wish to choose, known as a 'Lucky Dip'. The Lucky Dip option was first introduced on 17 March 1996. The entry fee to the Lotto draw was set at £1 per board from its introduction, and increased to £2 in October 2013.
The draw is conducted twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, except that, between 1994 and 2009, a draw on Christmas Day was moved to Christmas Eve; since 2010, draws are held on Christmas Day if that was a Wednesday or Saturday. Saturday draws started on 19 November 1994, under the name 'National Lottery'; the first Wednesday draw was on 5 February 1997. All of the draws are shown live on their YouTube channel at 20:00 on Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
Lotto was originally called The National Lottery, but was renamed Lotto in an update on 18 May 2002 after ticket sales decreased. Lotto is by far the most popular draw, with around 15 to 45 million tickets sold each draw. The most winners for a single jackpot was 133 in January 1995, each player winning £122,510.[35]
In the draw, six numbered balls are drawn without replacement from a set of 59 balls numbered from 1 to 59 (formerly 1 to 49 until October 2015). A further Bonus Ball is also drawn, which affects only players who match five numbers.
There are six prize tiers,[36] which are awarded to players who match at least two of the six drawn numbers, with prizes increasing for matching more of the drawn numbers. The players who match all six drawn numbers win equal shares of the jackpot; the chance of doing so is 1 in 45,057,474. Similarly, if four or five balls are matched, the relevant prize is divided equally between all who match that many balls.
If no player matches all six numbers, the jackpot is added to that of the next Lotto draw—a rollover. This accumulation was limited to three consecutive draws until 10 February 2011, when it was increased to four. Rollovers are frequent, with for example 20 Wednesday (39%) and 13 Saturday rollovers (25%) in 2011 (fewer tickets are sold on Wednesdays than Saturdays, increasing the probability of a rollover). "Treble rollovers"—two consecutive rollovers—are much less common. The first quadruple rollover draw occurred on Saturday 29 September 2012 with a jackpot of £19.5 million.[37] In the event of a quadruple rollover, if no tickets matched all six main numbers, the jackpot was shared between the tickets that match five numbers and the bonus ball. In October 2015, this rollover limit was replaced by a jackpot cap.[38]
Lotto Bonus Draws
[edit]On 18 May 2002, to celebrate the rebranding of The National Lottery, Camelot had introduced three special one-off bonus jackpot-only draws, with each bonus draw having a jackpot of £4,000,000.[39] In the same year on 1 June 2002, Camelot had introduced another special one-off jackpot-only draw to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Whilst the estimated jackpot for the main Lotto draw that evening was £6,600,000, the jackpot for the Lotto Golden Jubilee Draw was £10,000,000.[40] Again on 6 November 2004, to celebrate The National Lottery's 10th anniversary, Camelot once again introduced another special one-off jackpot-only draw, known as the Lotto 10th Anniversary Draw. The jackpot for this bonus draw, like with the Lotto Golden Jubilee Draw, was £10,000,000.[41] Once again on 29 April 2006, in response to Camelot's rival Chariot introducing a Monday Lotto draw that enters your ticket into their two draws each Monday, another one-off bonus jackpot-only draw for Lotto, known as the Lotto Monday Spoiler Draw was once again introduced by Camelot. The jackpot for this bonus draw was £5,000,000.[42] These bonus draws were included in the main Lotto game and gave players another chance at winning the jackpot on their Lotto ticket, using the same six numbers entered into the main draw. The rules were the same as Lotto Extra where players must match all six numbers to win the jackpot.
October 2013 changes
[edit]Camelot announced that the ticket price was to double to £2 from 3 October 2013, with prizes restructured.[43][44] The announcement was followed by news that large bonuses were to be set aside for management pay, which drew criticism.[45]
The arrival of the "New Lotto" meant bigger jackpots with an estimated average of £1.1 million extra for Saturday's draw and £400,000 on Wednesday. Players matching three numbers receive an extra £15, up from £10 before and an extra £40 for matching 4 numbers. Those matching five numbers receive £500 less, and £50,000 less when matching five numbers + the bonus ball, compared to the former system.[46]
As part of the refresh, a new Lotto Raffle was introduced, with at least 50 winners of £20,000 per draw.[47] The announcement and launch of the refreshed Lotto game caused controversy due to the price increase (dubbed as a "tax on the poor").[48]