All About The UK Lottery Draw

The UK lottery draw has proved to be extremely popular. The national lottery numbers are selected every Wednesday and Saturday and over 70% of the population take part. An average of 4 million people win prizes and more than £32 billion has been paid out to winners since the draw started in 1994. Lesser prizes are given out for three numbers or more and to win the jackpot, all six numbers require to be matched.

Of course, to take part in the UK lottery draw a ticket needs to be purchased. There are 27 500 authorized distributor outlets where most people buy their tickets. If you cannot wait for the results, instant win scratchcards are also available. Taking a special form, you then select your numbers, take the completed form to one of the shop staff who enters your details in a dedicated terminal. A receipt is produced which lists the numbers chosen, the dates and now a serial number with a bar code.


Technology now allows the playing of the British national lottery on-line as well. You just enter your selected numbers on the official site, pay the fee and you receive a ticket by email. Print this ticket off and it is accepted in the event you win a prize. This method is actually quite acceptable and safe (as long as you use the official website, of course). As in the case of the offline method, instant win options area available.

There is now the 'Lucky Dip' option for those who might be like me and useless at picking lottery numbers. Your six numbers are picked at random by the computer. If you wish, you can use the same numbers in each week's draw.

Extensive publicity is given to the winning national lottery numbers and the BBC even shows the draw live on air. Should you be lucky enough to select the successful national lottery numbers, you simply list your name and address on the reverse of the ticket and take it to any British national lottery outlet.

The jackpot prize is not always won every week. If this happens, it is said to 'rollover' and the prize money is added to the total for the following week.

Interestingly, one out of every four jackpots in the UK lottery draw is won by a syndicate. Most places of work and many clubs have at least one British national lottery syndicate in existence. Usually one person will take responsibility for the organisation and the purchasing of the tickets. On 30 December last year, six members of a syndicate in the north east of England won £1.7 million each total £10 million).

The UK lottery draw is not standing still, however. The opportunities to play lottery on-line have increased with the introduction of playing from your mobile phone and the development of Elottery syndicates. These give extra benefits including extra chances to win.

If you would like to find out more go to UK Lottery Draw.