Understanding National Lottery Results
Although the National Lottery seems a simple concept, the results can often cause puzzlement - how can some weeks a win be bigger or smaller, especially when it comes to matching only a few numbers? How is the prize money calculated? And, when it comes to the winning number results, how do they make it fair, and why do they change the machines and sets of balls?
The Lottery Draw
The National Lottery uses twelve different machines that can each be used in a Lotto draw. These machines and the set of balls that they are loaded with are selected at random, with the name of them announced just before the draw begins. Names of the Lotto machines are King Arthur and jewel themed and include Merlin, Galahad, Lancelot, Arthur, Vyvyan, Topaz, Amethyst, Opal, Garnet, Pearl, Sapphire and Moonstone. Some previous machines have been retired, such as Guinevere. There are eight different sets of balls in total, and these are designated by number.
Checking Your Ticket
When the results are out, it is important to check your lottery ticket. When checking, make sure the date on your ticket is correct, that it corresponds with the right draw, and the type of Lottery game. Numbers will be sorted from low to high on your ticket, and the balls are drawn at random from the machines, so, if you are checking your results as the draw happens on live television, so it may be confusing at first. At the end of the draw, though, the numbers are displayed as they would be on your ticket, from low to high, and all results displayed on websites, the news or on Teletext will be listed from low to high also. This should make it easy to match the numbers to those on your ticket.
Usual Prizes
The amount of prize money awarded to players depends entirely on how many people win and match the same amount of numbers as the player, and the total prize money for that particular lottery. The mid-week draws, for example, often do not accumulate as much prize money as the big end-of-week draws, and the EuroMillions lottery jackpot is often huge for the winner that matches all numbers, but the prize money for only a few matches depends entirely on how many tickets have been bought in the UK, and the percentage of prize money allocated.
Although the numbers are rounded down, at least 45% of all the sales on a National Lottery Draw are allocated to the Lottery Prize Fund, which pays out the prize money for that draw. All players that match three numbers will receive a set prize of £10, with it being very unlikely that the Prize Fund will not be able to cover this amount, but if the Prize Fund is particularly low for that draw then the money will be divided between the total amount of winners in all categories equally.
The prize money and how it is allocated to matching numbers is listed below:
Matching 3 Numbers: £10 or as stated above.
Matching 4 Numbers: 22% of the total Prize Fund.
Matching 5 Numbers: 10% of the total Prize Fund. This may seem lower than if matching 4 numbers, but it is in fact a lot more. This is because many less people match 5 numbers than 4 numbers, so the share is much higher.
Matching 5 Numbers and the Bonus Number: 15% of the total Prize Fund.
The Lottery Jackpot - Matching 6 Numbers: 52% of the total Prize Fund,
Overall, the odds of winning a cash prize on the Lottery are 1 in 54. As stated above, the exact amount a player will win as a prize will depend on the exact amount of tickets that have been sold and the amount of players that match the same quantity of numbers. For example, this means that if two or more people are lucky enough to match the six drawn numbers, then the 52% of the Prize Fund as a jackpot will be split between them.