The lottery is a popular form of gambling in the UK, with millions of people playing each week. The UK National Lottery, which is run by Camelot, holds several different lottery draws throughout the week. The main lottery draw takes place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. There are also additional draws held on other days for specific lottery games like Thunderball and EuroMillions.
Main National Lottery Draws
The main National Lottery draw takes place twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.
Wednesday Lottery Draw
The Wednesday night draw takes place at around 8pm. This draw is sometimes referred to as the “midweek draw.”
Saturday Lottery Draw
The Saturday night draw is the main National Lottery draw of the week. It takes place at around 8pm on Saturday evening. The Saturday draw tends to have the biggest jackpot as more players enter this draw.
Thunderball Draws
Thunderball is another lottery game run by Camelot as part of the National Lottery. It also holds draws multiple times a week.
Tuesday Thunderball Draw
Thunderball takes place every Tuesday evening at around 8pm.
Wednesday Thunderball Draw
In addition to the main lottery draw on Wednesdays, there is also a Thunderball draw on this evening at around 8pm.
Friday Thunderball Draw
The Friday night Thunderball draw takes place at around 8pm.
Saturday Thunderball Draw
Thunderball also takes place on Saturday night shortly before the main National Lottery draw at around 8pm.
EuroMillions Draws
EuroMillions is a lottery game played across multiple European countries. It also holds draws several times a week.
Tuesday EuroMillions Draw
EuroMillions takes place every Tuesday evening at around 8.45pm UK time. This draw takes place in Paris.
Friday EuroMillions Draw
The main EuroMillions draw of the week takes place on Friday evening at around 8.45pm UK time. This draw is held in Paris.
Set For Life Draws
Set For Life is another lottery game run by Camelot. It has draws twice a week.
Monday Set For Life Draw
The Monday Set For Life draw takes place at around 8pm.
Thursday Set For Life Draw
The Thursday draw also takes place at around 8pm.
When Do Lottery Ticket Sales Close?
Lottery ticket sales close shortly before each draw takes place. Here is when sales close for each draw:
| Draw | Ticket Sales Close |
|---|---|
| Wednesday Lottery | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday Thunderball | 7.30pm |
| Friday Thunderball | 7.30pm |
| Saturday Lottery | 7.30pm |
| Saturday Thunderball | 7.30pm |
| Tuesday Thunderball | 7.30pm |
| Tuesday EuroMillions | 7.30pm |
| Friday EuroMillions | 7.30pm |
| Monday Set For Life | 7.30pm |
| Thursday Set For Life | 7.30pm |
So in summary, ticket sales close 90 minutes before each draw takes place, at 7.30pm UK time. It’s important to purchase tickets before this deadline to be entered into that evening’s draw.
What Time Can I Buy Tickets Until?
While the ticket sales deadline is 7.30pm for each draw, you can actually buy tickets in shops and online up until around 7.45pm.
This is because there is a short window where lottery terminals will still process ticket purchases after the official 7.30pm deadline. However, you should aim to buy your tickets by 7.30pm to guarantee entry.
Here are the approximate last purchase times for each draw:
| Draw | Last Purchase Time |
|---|---|
| Wednesday Lottery | 7.45pm |
| Wednesday Thunderball | 7.45pm |
| Friday Thunderball | 7.45pm |
| Saturday Lottery | 7.45pm |
| Saturday Thunderball | 7.45pm |
| Tuesday Thunderball | 7.45pm |
| Tuesday EuroMillions | 7.45pm |
| Friday EuroMillions | 7.45pm |
| Monday Set For Life | 7.45pm |
| Thursday Set For Life | 7.45pm |
So while 7.30pm is the official ticket sales deadline, you may have an extra 15 minutes or so to buy tickets in shops or online. But be aware this varies between retailers and isn’t guaranteed. To be safe, buy before 7.30pm.
What Days Can I Not Play the Lottery?
You can play the lottery on every day of the week apart from the following:
Sunday
There are no UK lottery draws held on a Sunday.
Christmas Day
The lottery does not take place on Christmas Day. So there are no draws on December 25th.
If Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday or Saturday, that week’s usual main lottery draws are moved to different days instead.
How Often Are the Winning Numbers Drawn?
The winning lottery numbers are drawn shortly after ticket sales close for each game.
Here is the frequency that the winning numbers are drawn for each National Lottery game:
| Lottery Game | Winning Numbers Drawn |
|---|---|
| Main Lottery | Twice a week (Wed and Sat) |
| Thunderball | 4 times a week (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat) |
| EuroMillions | Twice a week (Tues and Fri) |
| Set For Life | Twice a week (Mon and Thurs) |
So in summary, winning numbers are drawn up to four times a week for Thunderball, twice a week for the Main Lottery, EuroMillions and Set For Life games.
What Time Are the Winning Numbers Announced?
The winning numbers are announced shortly after each draw takes place. Here are the approximate winning numbers announcement times:
| Draw | Winning Numbers |
|---|---|
| Wednesday Lottery | 8.15pm |
| Wednesday Thunderball | 8.15pm |
| Friday Thunderball | 8.15pm |
| Saturday Lottery | 8.15pm |
| Saturday Thunderball | 8.15pm |
| Tuesday Thunderball | 8.15pm |
| Tuesday EuroMillions | 9pm |
| Friday EuroMillions | 9pm |
| Monday Set For Life | 8.15pm |
| Thursday Set For Life | 8.15pm |
The winning numbers are announced shortly after each draw finishes, around 15 minutes later. EuroMillions is slightly later at 9pm due to the draw taking place in Paris.
You can check the winning numbers after each draw on the National Lottery website and app, as well as on television lottery programs.
Can You Enter the Same Numbers for Multiple Draws?
When playing certain National Lottery games, you can enter your chosen numbers for multiple upcoming draws. This means you don’t have to keep resubmitting your numbers each week.
Here are the games you can enter multiple draws for when buying tickets in shops or online:
- Main Lottery – Up to 6 consecutive draws
- Thunderball – Up to 4 consecutive draws
- EuroMillions – Up to 5 consecutive draws
- Set For Life – Up to 4 consecutive draws
So for example, you could enter the Wednesday and Saturday Lottery draws for the next 3 weeks (6 draws). Or enter Tuesday and Friday EuroMillions draws for the next 2 weeks (4 draws).
This is a convenient way to lock in your lucky numbers for future draws without having to remember to re-enter them each time. Just be aware that buying multiple draws in advance will cost more upfront.
Can You Play the Same Numbers Across Different Games?
If you want to replay the same set of numbers in multiple National Lottery games, you generally can.
However, there are a couple of things to note:
- You’ll need to buy separate tickets for each game – the numbers don’t carry across automatically.
- Some games have different number ranges – EuroMillions has a 1-50 range rather than 1-59.
- EuroMillions also has two extra Lucky Star numbers required.
So you can use the same core set of numbers for Lottery, Thunderball and Set For Life draws. But you may need to make adjustments to the numbers when playing EuroMillions.
Overall though, you can reuse your special numbers across most UK lottery games without any issues if you buy separate tickets.
How Often Do Numbers Get Drawn Again?
With the lottery being a random number draw, the same winning numbers can appear again at any time.
However, certain numbers being frequently drawn again is very rare over the short term. That’s because each draw has millions of possible number combinations.
Looking at the main Lottery game, the approximate chances of a specific set of numbers being drawn again are:
- Within the next 5 draws – 1 in 2.3 million
- Within the next 10 draws – 1 in 1.7 million
- Within the next 20 draws – 1 in 3.2 million
- Within the next 40 draws – 1 in 9.1 million
So only after many draws would you expect to see the same numbers drawn again perhaps by pure chance. But there’s no guarantee of any particular set of numbers repeating.
Some people believe in the “Law of Large Numbers”. This states that over an incredibly long period every possible outcome should occur at least once, including the same numbers repeating.
What Are the Most Common Numbers Drawn?
Some lottery numbers get drawn slightly more often over time than others. These are often described as “hot” numbers.
Here are some of the most commonly drawn main Lottery numbers over the history of the game:
- 38 – Drawn 287 times
- 23 – Drawn 284 times
- 31 – Drawn 283 times
- 25 – Drawn 281 times
- 33 – Drawn 279 times
And here are some of the least frequently drawn “cold” numbers:
- 45 – Drawn 220 times
- 13 – Drawn 224 times
- 46 – Drawn 226 times
- 41 – Drawn 229 times
- 26 – Drawn 229 times
Some people believe picking the historically hot numbers boosts your chances, while others avoid them believing they are “overdue” a rest. In reality, every number has an equal chance in each draw.
Has Any Number Not Been Drawn For Ages?
With Lottery numbers being randomly drawn, in theory any number can go many draws without being picked.
However, the huge number of possible combinations means that very long dry spells are incredibly rare. No number has gone more than 100 draws without being picked in the history of the Lottery main draw.
Here are some of longest number droughts in the main Lottery game:
- 32 – Unpicked for 98 draws between 2005-2006
- 53 – Unpicked for 83 draws between 2000-2001
- 42 – Unpicked for 82 draws between 1996-1997
- 48 – Unpicked for 76 draws between 2002-2003
- 52 – Unpicked for 71 draws between 1995-1996
So while some numbers can avoid the draw for a time, they will eventually be picked again. Even 100+ draws without being selected is unlikely due to the huge number pool.
Conclusions
In summary:
- The UK National Lottery holds its main draws twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.
- Additional games like Thunderball and EuroMillions take place on various other nights too.
- The winning numbers are randomly selected shortly after ticket sales close at 7.30pm for each draw.
- Players can enter the same numbers across different games and multiple upcoming draws.
- While some numbers are picked more frequently over time, each number still has an equal chance of being drawn.
The UK lottery provides several chances a week to play for huge multi-million pound jackpots. With draws held almost every night, players can enter at various times for their chance to win big. As long as you buy a ticket before the sales deadline, you could become the next lucky lottery winner!
