The National Lottery is one of the most popular lotteries in the UK. With draws taking place every day, millions of people play in hopes of winning life-changing sums of money. But before getting caught up in dreams of mansions and luxury cars, the first question on most players’ minds is: how much does a National Lottery ticket cost?
In this article, we will break down the pricing structure of the different National Lottery games to give you a clear picture of how much you can expect to spend on tickets. Whether you enjoy the classic Lotto draw or prefer scratchcards and online instant win games, you’ll find all the key details on National Lottery ticket costs here.
Lotto Ticket Costs
The National Lottery Lotto draw is undoubtedly the most famous game. Taking place every Wednesday and Saturday, it produces multimillionaire jackpot winners on a regular basis. Here’s a quick overview of Lotto ticket pricing:
Standard Lotto Play
– £2 per Lotto ticket
– Choose 6 numbers from 1-59
– Automatic entry into Lotto Millionaire Raffle
This is the basic Lotto ticket option which millions opt for. For just £2, you pick 6 numbers and are in with a chance of winning prizes up to the multimillion-pound jackpot. All standard Lotto tickets are also automatically entered into the Millionaire Raffle which guarantees winners of £1 million in every draw.
Lotto HotPicks
– £1 per play
– Choose 5 numbers from 1-59
– No Millionaire Raffle entry
In addition to the 6-number entry outlined above, you can also play just 5 numbers in Lotto HotPicks for £1 per ticket. This scaled down version of the game has smaller prizes but better odds of winning. Tickets for it are sold separately.
Lotto Double Play
– £1 per play
– Same 6 numbers are entered into an additional £500,000+ draw
– No Millionaire Raffle entry
This allows Lotto players to enter their chosen 6 numbers into an extra draw for just £1 extra. The prizes in the additional draw range from £5 up to around £500,000, providing another chance to win.
So in summary, a basic National Lottery Lotto ticket costs £2, with extras like Lotto HotPicks and Double Play available for £1 each if desired.
Euromillions Ticket Costs
The Euromillions lottery draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday, offering eye-watering nine-figure jackpots. Here are the ticket price options:
Standard Euromillions Play
– £2.50 per ticket
– Select 5 numbers from 1-50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1-12
– Automatically entered into Millionaire Maker code draw
To play the main Euromillions game, it costs £2.50 per ticket. This allows you to select 5 main numbers and 2 Lucky Stars to try and match them all to scoop the jackpot or other cash prizes. As with Lotto, a Millionaire Maker code is generated with every ticket, providing another way to win £1 million.
Euromillions UK Millionaire Maker
– £1.00 per play
– Enter just the Millionaire Maker code draw
For those looking for extra chances to become a guaranteed millionaire, it’s possible to enter just the Millionaire Maker part of Euromillions for £1. This is without selecting any main numbers.
Euromillions Lucky Star
– £1.25 per play
– Select just the 2 Lucky Star numbers
You can also play a simplified version called Lucky Star which removes the need to choose the 5 main numbers. For £1.25, you pick just the 2 Lucky Stars.
So in summary, a full Euromillions ticket costs £2.50, with Millionaire Maker or Lucky Star extras available for £1 or £1.25.
Thunderball Ticket Costs
Thunderball offers smaller prizes more frequently, with draws taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Ticket pricing works as follows:
Standard Thunderball Play
– £1 per ticket
– Select 5 numbers from 1-39 and 1 Thunderball from 1-14
To play Thunderball, it’s just £1 per ticket. You choose 5 regular numbers and 1 Thunderball number. Prizes range from £5 up to the top prize of £500,000.
There are no extras like with Lotto and Euromillions. So Thunderball keeps it nice and simple – just £1 per ticket, no add-ons.
Set For Life Ticket Costs
Introduced more recently in 2019, Set For Life differs from the other National Lottery draws. It offers a £10,000 per month top prize over 30 years rather than a single huge jackpot payment.
Standard Set For Life Play
– £1.50 per ticket
– Select 5 numbers from 1 to 47 and 1 Life Ball from 1 to 10
To play Set For Life, it costs £1.50 per ticket. You pick 5 regular numbers and 1 Life Ball number as the game works similarly to Thunderball. Match them all and you win the top prize of £10,000 paid monthly over 3 decades.
Just like Thunderball, there are no extras or add-ons. A Set For Life ticket always costs £1.50.
Scratchcard Ticket Costs
Instant win scratchcard games are also incredibly popular. Here are the typical price points:
£1 Scratchcards
– Minimum top prize of £100
– Lower overall odds of winning
The £1 price point tends to offer lower value prizes up to around £100, but better odds of winning. Games like National Lottery 7s and £1,000,000 Red are examples.
£2 Scratchcards
– Minimum top prize of £5,000
– Middle ground odds of winning
Popular £2 National Lottery scratchcards include Big Money Bonanza and Double Your Luck. The top prizes climb to around £5,000-£10,000.
£5 Scratchcards
– Minimum top prize of £50,000
– Worst odds but highest jackpots
The £5 games offer the biggest prizes which sometimes reach as high as £500,000. However, the odds of winning are lower. £5 scratchcards include Giant Pearls and Monopoly.
£10 Scratchcards
– Minimum top prize of £100,000
– Relatively low print runs
There are typically just a handful of £10 National Lottery scratchcard games available at any time, such as £10,000 a Week for a Year. As you’d expect, the jackpots hit at least £100,000.
So scratchcards range from £1 up to £10 depending on the size of the top prize and overall ticket availability. Lower price cards are printed in higher volumes.
Online Instant Win Games
In addition to physical scratchcards, the National Lottery also provides online instant win games through its website and app. These cost:
50p-£1
– Jackpots starting from £25 up to £500
The majority of National Lottery online instant win games cost between 50p and £1 to play. These have guaranteed cash prizes ranging from just £5 up to £500. Games include Genie Jackpots and Big Cats.
£2-£5
– Jackpots from £250 to £10,000+
A smaller selection of games are available to play for £2, £3, £4 or £5. These have bigger jackpot payouts going up to £10,000+. Some examples are Vegas Night Life and Jungle Rumble.
So for online instant win games, 50p is the minimum play cost, through to £5 tickets for the games with the largest available prizes.
Other National Lottery Game Costs
Alongside the above draw-based games and scratchcards/online instant win, there are a couple of additional National Lottery games with different price points.
Daily Play (Eazy Play)
– £1 per day
– Match 3 out of 6 numbers
– Prizes up to £500 per day
Daily Play is a fairly new game allowing you to buy tickets which last the whole day. It costs £1 total regardless of how many draws take place that day. You pick 6 numbers and try to match 3 per draw for varied cash prizes.
National Lottery Picks
– £20 per month
– Enter up to 18 different draws
– Varies based on number of picks
Lottery Picks allows you to buy a monthly National Lottery subscription with regular tickets for draws of your choice. The more draws included, the higher the monthly cost up to a maximum of £20.
Cost of National Lottery Tickets Summary
To quickly recap the typical cost of National Lottery tickets:
Game | Price Per Ticket |
---|---|
Lotto (base game) | £2 |
Euromillions (base game) | £2.50 |
Thunderball | £1 |
Set For Life | £1.50 |
Scratchcards | £1-£10 |
Online Instant Win | 50p-£5 |
Daily Play (Eazy Play) | £1 |
National Lottery Picks | Up to £20 monthly |
As shown, the price per National Lottery ticket ranges from 50p up to £10 depending on the type of game you choose to play. Basic entry to the flagship Lotto and Euromillions draws starts from just £2.
You can spend as little or as much as you want, with numerous extras available for the biggest games. There are options to suit every budget and preference!
Factors That Determine National Lottery Ticket Prices
A variety of factors influence the pricing of different National Lottery games. Here are some of the key considerations:
Prize Fund Percentages
Each National Lottery game must dedicate a minimum percentage of revenue to its prize fund. Larger shares allow for bigger jackpots:
– Lotto: 50%
– Euromillions: 50%
– Thunderball: 32.5%
– Set For Life: 65%
Higher prize fund percentages mean tickets often cost more. Set For Life has the largest share going to prizes and costs £1.50 but has smaller jackpots than Lotto and Euromillions.
Jackpot Size
Games offering the biggest jackpots are priced higher as more revenue is needed to fund those potential multimillion-pound top prizes.
Number of Balls
The fewer regular numbers in the draw, the better your odds become. Set For Life has the fewest balls so the chance of winning versus ticket spend is higher.
Ancillary Games and Promotions
Lotto and Euromillions tickets cost more because part of the spend goes towards their £1 million raffles. Plus there are supplementary games like Lotto Double Play available.
Retailer Commission
Retailers selling National Lottery tickets receive a small percentage commission. Larger commissions are possible on more expensive games.
So in summary, the key aspects determining National Lottery ticket pricing are the prize percentages, jackpot sizes, odds of winning and supplementary options available with each game.
Add-On Options to Increase Your Chances
While a single National Lottery ticket gives you a chance of winning, there are add-on options to boost your chances by buying multiples tickets or entries. Here are some of the main ones to consider:
Multi-Draw Tickets
Rather than buying a ticket for just one draw, you can purchase them for up to 8 consecutive draws in advance. It saves time and often comes at a discount.
National Lottery Boost
For online play, Boost is available on Lotto, Euromillions and Thunderball. It doubles or triples your lines of numbers for bigger chances but higher cost.
Lotto Rolldowns
If nobody wins the Lotto jackpot, unclaimed prize funds roll down to lower tiers. Taking advantage of rolldowns means bigger lower tier prizes.
Syndicates
Join a National Lottery syndicate to share the cost of tickets with others. Combined buying power means you can afford more lines and tickets.
So if you want to increase your odds beyond a solo ticket, looking at advance draws, Boosts, rolldowns and syndicates can all be good options. Just be aware it will increase your spend.
Conclusion
The typical National Lottery ticket price ranges from 50p up to £10 based on the size of the game’s jackpot and prizes available. Lotto and Euromillions are the flagship games with cheaper entry at just £2 and £2.50. Thunderball offers better odds for only £1, while Set For Life provides a different prize structure for £1.50.
If you want bigger chances, add-ons like Boost and syndicate play let you spend more to cover additional possible number combinations. But a single ticket could still bag you a fortune if you manage to defy the odds and match all the numbers!
Just remember to gamble responsibly and only spend what you can afford. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional flutter as long as it stays fun.