How to play the UK lottery: Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball and Set For Life explained
The National Lottery (run by Allwyn) sells tickets in shops and online, and every result appears here seconds after the draw. This guide covers who can play, where to buy a ticket, what each game costs and how it works.
Who can play
You must be 18 or over (since 22 April 2021; it used to be 16). In a shop anyone who is in the UK can buy a ticket, visitors included; no residence status or UK bank account is needed to play, though a bank account becomes useful for a larger prize (see how to claim a prize).
Online play (national-lottery.co.uk and the app) is for residents of the UK or the Isle of Man only, and you must be physically in the UK when you buy: the site checks your location, and an account used from abroad can be closed. Websites offering "EuroMillions from anywhere" sell a bet on the outcome of the draw, not a ticket: a bookmaker pays out on its own terms, and the Millionaire Maker code does not take part.
Where and how to buy
There are around 40,000 retailers: corner shops, petrol stations, supermarkets and Post Office branches, recognisable by the crossed-fingers logo at the till or on a separate terminal.
- Playslip. Mark your numbers on a paper playslip, one line per column, or ask for a Lucky Dip and the terminal picks the numbers for you.
- Number of draws. Choose one or both draws a week and up to 8 weeks in advance; the price is lines times draws.
- The printed ticket is the ticket. Check the numbers and the draw date, and write your name and address on the back: without it no prize can be claimed, and whoever finds it could claim instead of you.
- Online. An account needs your details, date of birth and a debit card (credit cards cannot be used for gambling in the UK). A Direct Debit plays the same numbers in every draw, holidays included, and prizes up to £500 are paid into the account automatically.
The games at a glance
| Game | Price | You pick | Draws | Top prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lotto | £2 | 6 from 59 (the Bonus Ball is drawn by the machine) | Wednesday and Saturday, about 8pm | jackpot, usually a few million pounds |
| EuroMillions | £2.50 | 5 from 50 + 2 Lucky Stars from 12 | Tuesday and Friday, about 8:45pm | jackpot from €17 million up to €250 million |
| Thunderball | £1 | 5 from 39 + Thunderball from 14 | Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, about 8:15pm | £500,000 (fixed) |
| Set For Life | £1.50 | 5 from 47 + Life Ball from 10 | Monday and Thursday, about 8pm | £10,000 every month for 30 years |
| Lotto HotPicks | £1 | 1 to 5 numbers from 59, all must be drawn | with Lotto | £175,000 for 5 numbers |
| EuroMillions HotPicks | £1.50 | 1 to 5 numbers from 50, all must be drawn | with EuroMillions | £1,000,000 for 5 numbers |
| Powerball | £4 | 5 from 69 + Powerball from 26 | drawn in the USA; UK results on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings | jackpot paid over 30 years |
There are also scratchcards (£1 to £5) and online instant win games. 49's is a separate bookmakers' numbers game with four draws a day, not part of The National Lottery.
The two Lotto rounds
Since 10 June 2026 every Lotto draw night has two rounds: the machine draws two independent sets of six numbers plus a Bonus Ball, one after the other, and your £2 line plays in both. That doubles the chance of every prize (jackpot: 1 in 22.5 million instead of 1 in 45 million). Match 2, 3, 4 and 5 pay fixed amounts (£1, £10, £50 and £1,000), Match 5 + Bonus Ball pays £1,000,000 and the jackpot is shared between tickets matching all six. If nobody matches six, the jackpot rolls over, at most five times; the sixth draw is a Must Be Won draw and an unwon jackpot is shared across the lower tiers.
After the draw
Lotto, Thunderball and Set For Life are drawn live and we type the numbers in during the broadcast, so the result is here seconds after the last ball; EuroMillions follows once the recording is published in the evening. The prize breakdown (winners and prize in every tier) usually arrives within an hour. Any retailer or the app will check your ticket, and our number checker compares your numbers with the whole history.
How to collect and how long you have: claiming a prize. Whether a win is taxed: lottery winnings and tax.
Play responsibly. Online accounts have spending limits and GamStop offers free self-exclusion across the UK. Help: BeGambleAware.org. Lotteries are games of chance: no statistic can predict the next draw.