The National Lottery is the biggest Lotto Operator in the UK

The National Lotto Results

Most nations have got its own national state franchised lotteries. In the UK and the Isle of Man its the so-called National Lottery which is leaded by the Camelot group. This company got the license granted in 2007, but also before in 2001 and 1994. Furthermore the National Lotto is controlled by the National Lottery commission and was set by Prime Minister John Major in 1994.

All prices are tax-free as well as they are paid as a lump sum. Similar to other lotteries, 50% of all money spent on National Lottery games goes to the prize fund, while nearly 30% (in fact 28%) goes to good causes. Those good causes are determined by Parliament, nevertheless some consider this being a stealth tax which should support the big lottery fund. Further 12% belong to the UK government, and 5% goes to Camelot, the operator, whereof 0.5% are profit.

As of the statute in 1698, lotteries in England are generally declared as illegal, but could however be organized by a specific statute. Several changes in 1934, 1956 and 1976 eventually legalized little lotteries. As written before, John Major's government in 1993 set up the first UK state franchised lottery, called the National Lottery. The franchising belongs to the Camelot group, which was granted the franchise on 1994 May 25. The very first national lotto results ever were 30, 3, 5, 44, 14, 22, with the bonus number 10. The jackpot was cracked by seven winners which shared a price of £5,874,778. This first draw took place on 19th November 1994 and was presented by Noel Edmonds in a TV show.

Recent changes

A few changes have been made by the years, an important one with the rebranding program in 2002 which was designed to counteract the falling sales. The result was the renaming of the main game to "Lotto" furthermore the former National Lottery Extra was named to Lotto Extra. In the course of time more and more games have been added to the national lottery, the most important one is Thunderball. Lotto Hotpicks, Euromillions, scratch cards and online instant wins, as well as the Lotto raffle and the UK millionaire raffle are also very important. The last change was made in 2013. Camelot announced their adopted price from £1-£2 and a restructuring of the prices.

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How does the National Lotto works?

The main principle of the game (Lotto jackpot draw) is quite easy and similar to other lotteries. The player chooses 6 in 49 numbers and the bonus number, which is also known as lucky dip. There are several winning classes: The best one, the first class, requires six correct numbers and pays out 66.4% of the fund, at an odd of winning of 13,983,815 to 1. The second class is reached when five numbers and the lucky dip match, the due of the fund is 5.3% and the odd of winning this 2,330,635 to 1. With the probability of 55,490 to 1 you get 4.5% of the funds if five numbers are matching. If only four numbers are right, you gain 23.8% of the fund with an odd of winning of 1,031 to 1. The last class, the so-called three ball prizewinners, is reached with the odds of winning of 56 to 1 and you win £25. Those £25 are fix, the rest 42.47% (+5.03%) of the draw sales is the lottery fund.

When the national lotto results are made public and no one has chosen the right six jackpot numbers, there will be a rollover, meaning the jackpot not being distributed but added to the next draw. The highest jackpot ever in the history of the National Lottery was £42,008,610. This draw was on January 6, 1996 and there have been three anonymous winners who won £14,002,870 each.

Unclaimed Prizes and Conditions

If the price is unclaimed it is split by the National Lottery distribution fund. The deadline to claim the prize is 180 days after the draw. The biggest unclaimed prize was £63,837,543.60, it was the jackpot of the Euromillions draw of June 8 in 2012.

If you want to play a game of National Lottery you have to be at least 16 years. You also have to bring some money, with the change of October 2013 you have to pay 2 pounds for a ticket. You can play online or by buying a ticket in a store. If played online, the ticket purchaser has to be physically present in the UK or on the Isle of Man at the time making the ticket purchase as well as he has to be resident in the UK or Isle of Man, additionally a UK bank account is needed. With lottery tickets not being transferable, commercial syndicates are premised. The last thing to mention is, that not only the player, but also the purchaser for a syndicate has to fit to the eligibility criteria.

Where the draw takes place?

The drawing machine that picks the numbers twice a weekThe draws of the national lotto take place each Saturday and Wednesday, the little exception is Christmas because there the day of draw is set to Christmas Eve. The first Wednesday draw was on February 5, 1997, each draw is shown life on the TV channel BBC One. There is a little difference in the presentation of the Wednesday and Saturday draw, meaning that the Wednesday draw has got its 10 minutes slot in the TV program, while the Saturday draw is being made in a big game show. Today the Wednesday draws are shown live on the National Lottery's website but no more in TV - however the national lotto results are still shown on BBC One on Wednesday.

Take part in the next National Lotto Draw and win the Jackpot!