UK National Lottery to Launch Income for Life Prizes and Bigger Payouts
The Camelot Group, which operates the National Lottery, has announced plans for improved Lotto and EuroMillions payouts as well as a new drawing to be launched in 2019 that will offer a top prize guaranteeing winners “thousands of pounds” every month for at least 25 years.
In a press release issued yesterday, the Camelot Group detailed its plans to improve its offerings and increase sales over the long term. Starting in November, Lotto will see jackpots won more often and larger fixed prizes awarded for lower-tier wins.
Camelot has also announced more frequent special drawings to be held for EuroMillions and the introduction of an annuity game designed to give winners a fixed income for a set number of years. Big changes are coming to some of the world’s biggest lotteries in mere months. Here’s a breakdown of what we have to look forward to.
Changes to Lotto Starting in November
Camelot explains that although Lotto is the UK’s best-selling lottery game, it “has not performed as well as expected following changes in 2015.” To that end, Camelot has taken feedback from retailers and players to initiate changes to scrap the raffle, award jackpots more often and roll down prizes to lower tiers in certain circumstances.
Despite these changes, prizes and odds will remain the same. Players will still pay £2 per line and pick six numbers out of 59. Payouts will change as follows:
- Match 6 main numbers: Jackpot
- Match 5 + bonus ball: £1 million fixed (up from £50,000 estimated)
- Match 5 main numbers: £1,750 fixed (up from £1,000 estimated)
- Match 4 main numbers: £140 fixed (up from £100 estimated)
- Match 3 main numbers: £30 fixed (up from £25 fixed)
- Match 2 main numbers: Free Lotto Lucky Dip
Another significant change will reduce the maximum number of Lotto jackpot rollovers from ten to five before holding a must-be-won drawing on the sixth consecutive draw. Additionally, the must-be-won drawing will no longer split the jackpot amongst the players with the most matches if no one matches all six main numbers. Instead, the prize money will be rolled down to the match 3, match 4, match 5 and match 5 + bonus ball prize tiers.
By way of example, Camelot explained in its press release that a rolldown on the sixth consecutive drawing without a jackpot winner could result in the 100,000 or so Match 3 winners seeing their prizes boosted from £30 fixed to around £100 while the thousands of Match 4 winners could see their prizes boosted from £140 fixed to around £500.
Lotto will pay for these increased prizes by discontinuing the millionaire raffle and using that money to fund the prizes.
Changes to EuroMillions Coming in Early 2019
EuroMillions will begin hosting bigger, more frequent special draws beginning in “early 2019.” Camelot explained on Monday that rather than guaranteeing 10 UK millionaires, a special drawing might now guarantee 30 UK millionaires.
Camelot will pay for the bigger special draws by guaranteeing two UK millionaires every week instead of the four currently guaranteed every week. All other prizes and payouts will remain the same as before.
A special draw that will guarantee 40 UK millionaires is already in the works for Spring, 2019. More big events are slated to run over the summer.
New Income for Life UK National Lottery Game
The other big news out of Camelot this week is the announcement that the National Lottery will launch an annuity game in Spring of 2019. According to its research, Camelot says this type of jackpot has proven extremely popular in other countries as it appeals to players who dream of lifetime security rather than winning a big, one-off jackpot.
Details on the game are limited at this point, but Camelot is aiming for a jackpot that pays “thousands of pounds” per month for at least 25 years. The launch of the game is subject to regulatory approval and Camelot will release more information over coming months.
