Game overhaul gives players more chances to win, but with some lower prizes

By Kate Northrop

The overhaul for the UK National Lottery's revamp of the classic Lotto draw game will kick off tonight, with New Lotto offering a second chance to win on every ticket.

It's two for the price of one in the UK National Lottery's overhauled New Lotto draw game, which has moved to a new two-round format at its twice-per-week schedule.

Players may be getting more chances to win in New Lotto, but nothing about the ticket price and draw schedule is changing. Draws will still be held Wednesdays and Saturdays, just with 2 rounds of drawings instead of one.

That means that each ticket, which still costs £2, will make that play valid for two separate drawings per night, one taking place right after the other, giving players a second shot at winning a prize with the same numbers.

"Lotto is the original, flagship game of The National Lottery, and the money it generates for good causes touches the lives of millions of people every day," the Lottery says. "We know that players still love Lotto, but our customer research also tells us that players would like more chances to win a prize and more chances to become a millionaire. New Lotto does exactly that, with 'One ticket. Two chances to win', while keeping the price at £2 per line."

Players will still pick six numbers from 1 to 59 or choose a Lucky Dip (Quick Pick) to allow the computer to generate a random selection of numbers. The game will draw six balls and a Bonus Ball from the drum in Round 1.

In Round 2, six balls and a Bonus Ball are drawn from a second set of 59 numbers in an additional machine. Each play on a ticket is valid for those two separate draws. Results from the two rounds are treated separately and cannot be combined.

While it means two shots at winning prizes on the same set of numbers, it also means two shots at the progressive jackpot. If more than one player hits the jackpot across both rounds, it is shared between winners. All other prizes are fixed and subject to capping.

However, the game now offers lower non-jackpot level prizes. While the Match 5 + Bonus Ball prize remains consistent at £1 million, all other prize tiers have decreased:

Match 5 prizes have been reduced from £1,750 to £1,000, Match 4 from £140 to £50, and Match 3 from £30 to £10. Match 2 has changed from a free Lotto Lucky Dip (Quick Pick) ticket to a £1 cash prize.

Based on "statistical game modeling," the National Lottery expects its New Lotto revamp to "make more than double the number of millionaires" over a 12-month period that Lotto made in 2025. According to the Lottery, the approximate new odds of winning the jackpot per line have improved from 1 in 45,057,474 to 1 in 22,528,738.

New Lotto will still follow the same cadence that applies to jackpot rollovers and Must Be Won draws. The jackpot can roll over a maximum of five times. If it still isn't won, the sixth consecutive draw becomes a Must Be Won draw.

If there is no jackpot winner in the Must Be Won draw, the money not won will be used to pay each Match 2 winner £5, and the leftover money will be shared between Match 3 winners. Each round does not count as a consecutive draw — Round 1 and Round 2 are counted together in a single night toward one consecutive rollover.

New Lotto will also occasionally award £1 million prizes in a Guaranteed Millionaire Raffle. In these special event draws, a Raffle number will be automatically added to a player's ticket for each Lotto line purchased for a Lotto drawing.

The New Lotto jackpot currently stands at £2 million for the next drawing on Wednesday, June 10. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. UK time. Tickets cost £2.

All Lotto winning numbers, prizes, and odds are published on Lottery Post's United Kingdom Lottery Results pages right after each drawing.