Playing The UK National Lottery


Lottery style games in the United Kingdom date back as far as the 1600s when they were held in order to raise capital for the state. The UK National Lottery as we know it today was launched in the 1990s by John Major, and Camelot was awarded the license for the first time in 1994 and still operates the UK National Lottery to this day. There have been numerous changes to the UK National Lottery including ticket price, lucky number range and the value of the prize tiers and jackpot.


Currently the UK National Lottery


When playing the UK Lottery players are required to choose six different lucky numbers from a number pool of 1 - 59. Players must either pick their own lucky numbers, or have their lucky numbers automatically generated for them in a random sequence. The UK National Lottery draw is held twice every week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The only exception is if these days fall on Christmas Day, in which case the draw will be moved to Christmas Eve. 


All the UK National Lottery draws are televised live as they happen, with the UK Lotto results being published and made public shortly thereafter.


The UK National Lottery has six different prize tiers based on how many of the lucky numbers that players match. The lowest prize tiers are paid out when players match two lucky numbers, and the UK Lotto jackpot is paid out when a player matches all the lucky numbers. There is also a further bonus number that must be matched to win the UK Lotto jackpot. If nobody wins the UK Lotto jackpot it will rollover to the next UK Lotto draw, which means the jackpot will be even higher. The UK National Lottery jackpot can rollover four times after which the UK Lotto jackpot will be capped until it is won. If more than one player matches the lucky numbers for higher tier prizes, the prizes are split between all the players who matched those lucky numbers. The UK National Lottery underwent a rule change in 2018 that specified that if the jackpot is not won by the fifth draw, it will be split among the lower tier prizewinners.


UK National Lottery results are available immediately as the UK Lotto draws are televised live. You can also check the UK Lotto results online, which are usually available shortly after the draw has been completed and the results are confirmed by UK Lotto officials. Players from around the world can view the UK National Lottery results online by searching for terms such as ‘UK Lotto results online’ or ‘UK National Lottery results online’. When searching these terms you will be able to locate the latest UK Lotto results on a multitude of different sites. You can also view historic UK Lotto results for any past UK Lotto draw. Simply input the date of the draw and you will be able to view those particular UK National Lottery results batch.


Players can also buy their UK National Lottery tickets online. There are plenty of different online lottery ticketing agents that allow players from around the world to buy UK Lotto tickets even though they might not reside in the United Kingdom. Lotto players will have the chance to buy UK National Lottery tickets online up to weeks in advance ensuring they don’t miss any draws. The biggest benefit of playing the UK National Lottery online is that you get to play for the official prizes, including the UK National Lottery jackpot, even though you might not actually live in the United Kingdom.


A good portion of all the UK National Lottery proceeds go toward various charities and other good causes across the United Kingdom. By 2016 the UK National Lottery had raised more than £30 billion for good causes around the United Kingdom. This includes all the money raised from unclaimed UK Lotto winnings. The lottery operator Camelot is responsible for distributing the money to the different good causes, with a total of 40% going to education, 20% going toward sports programmes, 20% towards the arts and the final 20% towards conserving various heritage sites.


All UK National Lottery prizes must be collected within 180 days of being won. Winners will be required to submit their winning ticket to validate, after which their prizes will be paid out. If a UK Lotto prize is more than £50,000 the location of where the ticket was purchased will be made public two weeks after the draw if nobody has come forward to claim the prize. The UK National Lottery also currently holds the world record for the largest unclaimed jackpot prize ever; a whopping £63 million jackpot went unclaimed in 2012. A big benefit when playing the UK Lotto online is that any winnings you are owed are automatically paid to you without having to actually claim the prize yourself.


The biggest UK Lotto jackpot ever won was by Colin and Chris Weir who won £161 million in 2011, and at the time was the biggest ever jackpot won in the UK. The couple used a portion of their winnings to buy luxury cars for their closest friends.


Another UK couple, Adrian and Gillian Bayford, scooped a massive £148 million UK National Lottery jackpot in 2012. The couple used their winnings to travel around the world including trips to Disneyland and the Rocky Mountains.