Yahoo Finance How much is the National Lottery jackpot and why are you more likely to win this week?
How big is this week's jackpot?
The National Lottery is expecting a rush for tickets this week as a must-win £25 million jackpot means the odds of winning the top prize are six times better than usual.
After ten consecutive draws without a jackpot winner, the total prize fund must be won this Wednesday, so if no-one correctly predicts all six numbers the £24.7 million jackpot will be won or shared by anyone who matches five numbers plus the bonus ball.
How to pick lottery numbers and win: 8 ways to increase your chances
Why is it a 'must-win'?
The “must win” rule is triggered when the prize fund reaches £22 million, and slashes the odds of taking home a life-changing prize from one in 45 million to one in 7.5 million.
Last weekend one player matched five numbers and the bonus, winning just £89,000. The same result on Wednesday could mean winning the entire jackpot.
What time is the draw?
The twice-weekly Lotto draws are no longer screened live on the BBC. Wednesday’s draw will be streamed live on YouTube and Facebook Live at 8.30pm and the results will be available on the national lottery website and broadcast on BBC One after the Ten O’Clock news.
Is it too difficult to win?
It comes as lottery franchise holders Camelot face criticism that the additional of ten extra balls into the draw eighteen months ago have made the game “boring” because the vanishingly small odds of winning lead to more frequent rollovers.
Statistician Rob Mastrodomenico, 36, founder of consultancy Global Sports Statistics, told The Telegraph: “They’ve made it extremely difficult to win. When you look at the things you would compare it to, like being struck by lightning, you see how difficult it is.”
At nine million to one, it is five times more likely that you will be struck by lightning twice in your lifetime than win the national lottery in a standard week.
Mr Mastrodomenico added: “It would need nearly every person in the UK to buy a ticket, and to have a unique combination, to guarantee that someone would win each week."
How can I play?
Buy a lotto ticket online from the official website, or download the app for Apple or Android. Select your six numbers from 1 to 59, or play by Lucky Dip.
Every time you play you will automatically be given a randomly-generated Millionaire Raffle entry. The raffle will take place on the day of the lotto draw you have entered.
Raffle entries start with a four letter colour which is followed by eight numbers. Twenty-one raffle tickets are selected with one main prize of £1 million and 20 £20,000 prizes.
Lotto can be played online everyday from 8am to 11pm. On the day of the Lotto draw, ticket sales close at 7.30pm. Players must be 16 or over and physically located in the UK or Isle of Man.
Lotto prizes
The National Lottery has so far given away over £59 billion in prizes and created more than 4,400 millionaires or multi-millionaires since its launch in 1994. An estimated £34 million is raised every week for life-changing projects.
What do Lotto winners do with their money?
the lowdown: what lottery winners do with their cash
Lotto records
The record jackpot won on January 9 was £66 million, it has been shared between two ticket holders (only one has successfully claimed the prize so far).
David and Carol Martin from Hawick in the Scottish Borders rushed out to spend £5 on six champagne glasses after scooping £33 million in a record rollover.
The largest prize ever won on a single Lotto line was £22.5 million banked by work colleagues Mark Gardiner and Paul Maddison from Hastings in 1995.
The biggest ever individual Lotto winner is Iris Jeffrey from Belfast who won £20.1 million in 2004.
Colin and Chris Weir from Largs, North Ayrshire, who banked £161 million in a EuroMillions jackpot in 2011, are the biggest British winners ever.
Quotes from previous Lotto winners
What's it like to win the Lottery?
Luckiest Lotto names
If your name is John or Margaret you may have reason to feel slightly luckier than usual.
More lotto millionaires have been created with those names than any other. Similarly, most winners have tended to work in construction, administration or management.
Taxi drivers, lorry-drivers shop assistants and chefs, also tend to do well, though it is most likely because they play more than the less fortunate bankers, politicians and estate agents.
Is winning the lottery a blessing or a curse?
Matching up a string of winning numbers on a lottery ticket is something most people have dreamed about at least once in their life.
What would you spend the money on? Where would you go on holiday? Would you pack in your job? Which of your friends and family would get a slice of your good fortune? How much would you give to charity?
But once the initial endorphin rush has subsided, could depositing a multi-million pound lump sum into your bank account actually have a bitter ending?
Lottery winners are plagued by tales of bad financial management, bankruptcy and irreconcilable family rifts.
Can we change your mind about winning the lottery? Try our mind changer below:
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