Which Has Better Odds Euromillions Or Lotto

1. Which Lottery Has Better Odds
2. What Is More Likely Than Winning The Euromillions
3. Which Has Better Odds Euromillions Or Lotto 6

Last Updated: Wednesday 21st September 2016, 09:36

Whether you want to win a mind-blowing jackpot or are interested in better odds of winning, there are several lotteries out there that offer something for everyone. Following changes to EuroMillions, it may be the perfect time to explore which UK lottery game suits you best.

're more likely to get into Harvard. You're more likely to get into Harvard than to win a lottery jackpot. Play Lottery Games with Shorter Odds. Playing a lottery with shorter odds of winning the jackpot will.

EuroMillions

EuroMillions is the game of choice for UK players who are after massive jackpots. It has created big winners like Colin and Chris Weir, who won £161.6 million in July 2011, and upcoming changes to the game will see bigger jackpots on a more regular basis thanks to the addition of a 12th Lucky Star.

EuroMillions players also have the opportunity to win one of two £1 million prizes in every draw thanks to the Millionaire Maker and can stand to win fantastic luxury experiences in the new Mega Week promotion. A Monthly Bonus Draw will also be launched to give ticket holders an extra chance to play for an additional £1 million prize pot, and the introduction of the European Millionaire Maker will create even more millionaires across the continent.

Lotto

The size of the average Lotto jackpot may not match up to EuroMillions, but the odds of winning the top prize are better, and changes to Lotto in October 2015 have seen eight-figure jackpots become very common. In January 2016, two players split a record jackpot of just over £66 million, while a ticket holder in April 2016 won £35.1 million - the largest Lotto prize won on a single ticket. The supplementary Lotto Millionaire Raffle guarantees that one lucky ticket holder will become £1 million richer in every draw, while there are also 20 further raffle prizes of £20,000 in each game.

Thunderball

Thunderball offers great prizes and holds three draws a week. The odds of winning the jackpot are considerably lower in comparison to Lotto or EuroMillions and all prize amounts are fixed. This means that if you match all five main numbers plus the Thunderball, it does not matter how many other ticket holders do the same - you will win £500,000. Matching just the Thunderball by itself guarantees that you'll win £3, and the more numbers you match, the more you can win.

Which Game is Right for You?

There are a number of things to consider as you decide which lottery game to play, and it might be that you explore other games such as Lotto HotPicks or the Health Lottery, but it is very much an individual choice. It may be that you decide to mix up how you play and opt for certain games when the jackpots grow bigger, or consider joining a syndicate to boost your chances of winning by holding a share of more tickets.

Tickets can be bought online or from authorised retailers, and whichever game you play it is possible to win a life-changing amount of money. Good luck!

So which gives better odds – is it the UK Lotto or EuroMillions?

The EuroMillions odds have always been worse, but that's not the whole story. They keep changing the structure of both games, which always affects the odds.

So let's find out how this stands now.

IMPORTANT: Ticket Price Matters

Ticket price is always forgotten when people are working out game odds. But that's wrong, because it's CRITICAL to factor this in to know which is easier to win.

Back when the Lotto was still only £1 per line to play, it cost £2 to play EuroMillions (in the UK). That meant you could cover twice as many UK Lotto combinations for exactly the same money.

This makes a huge difference to your real chances of winning.

What Are The Odds Now?

Back in 2016 EuroMillions added an extra Lucky Star ball (going from 11 to 12 – read more in changes to EuroMillions). This made it harder to win.

The year before there were big changes to the UK Lotto, which increased the main balls from 49 up to 59. That dramatically affected the odds for all prizes.

Which Lottery Has Better Odds

But that's not all. The UK Lotto used to be £1 per play, now it's £2 (since 2013). The EuroMillions ticket price has also now increased, from £2 to £2.50 (since 2016). This changes the answer too.

So these are the current odds of winning the jackpot for both games:-

So Which Is Now Better?

If we just look at the odds alone, the EuroMillions odds make it 3.1 times harder to win.

But if we take into account that extra 50p per ticket, it means that the odds of winning EuroMillions vs National Lottery are now 3.8 times worse.

Or in other words, comparing Lotto vs EuroMillions it's now 3.8 times easier to win the National Lottery (i.e. Lotto).

It used to be 8.3 times easier. So whilst things have shifted strongly towards EuroMillions again, Lotto is still easier to win.

Of course EuroMillions has always had a much larger jackpot, particularly with rollovers. This gap has also narrowed too. Because the jackpot odds are tougher there are more rollover draws for UK Lotto, resulting in bigger rollover jackpots.

The two games have become a lot more like each other. But those tougher odds for the big Euro game have long been the reason why a lot of people play in a EuroMillions syndicate of course. With enough people it more than makes up the difference.

Not The End Of Story

But that's not quite the end of the story. Because there is also the UK Millionaire Maker (previously called the Millionaire Raffle), which is included in your EuroMillions ticket price.

We're all about the big prizes, so we don't greatly care that you can win £2.70 for matching 2 balls!

But we do care that you have an extra chance to win £1 Million every draw with Millionaire Maker. So EuroMillions scores a bonus point on this one.

So Which Game Should I Play Now?

What Is More Likely Than Winning The Euromillions

I know a lot of people are disappointed that the UK Lotto is now harder to win. But the increase in the Match 5 + Bonus prize to £1 Million does take some of the sting away.

EuroMillions is the game of choice for UK players who are after massive jackpots. It has created big winners like Colin and Chris Weir, who won £161.6 million in July 2011, and upcoming changes to the game will see bigger jackpots on a more regular basis thanks to the addition of a 12th Lucky Star.

EuroMillions players also have the opportunity to win one of two £1 million prizes in every draw thanks to the Millionaire Maker and can stand to win fantastic luxury experiences in the new Mega Week promotion. A Monthly Bonus Draw will also be launched to give ticket holders an extra chance to play for an additional £1 million prize pot, and the introduction of the European Millionaire Maker will create even more millionaires across the continent.

Lotto

The size of the average Lotto jackpot may not match up to EuroMillions, but the odds of winning the top prize are better, and changes to Lotto in October 2015 have seen eight-figure jackpots become very common. In January 2016, two players split a record jackpot of just over £66 million, while a ticket holder in April 2016 won £35.1 million - the largest Lotto prize won on a single ticket. The supplementary Lotto Millionaire Raffle guarantees that one lucky ticket holder will become £1 million richer in every draw, while there are also 20 further raffle prizes of £20,000 in each game.

Thunderball

Thunderball offers great prizes and holds three draws a week. The odds of winning the jackpot are considerably lower in comparison to Lotto or EuroMillions and all prize amounts are fixed. This means that if you match all five main numbers plus the Thunderball, it does not matter how many other ticket holders do the same - you will win £500,000. Matching just the Thunderball by itself guarantees that you'll win £3, and the more numbers you match, the more you can win.

Which Game is Right for You?

There are a number of things to consider as you decide which lottery game to play, and it might be that you explore other games such as Lotto HotPicks or the Health Lottery, but it is very much an individual choice. It may be that you decide to mix up how you play and opt for certain games when the jackpots grow bigger, or consider joining a syndicate to boost your chances of winning by holding a share of more tickets.

Tickets can be bought online or from authorised retailers, and whichever game you play it is possible to win a life-changing amount of money. Good luck!

So which gives better odds – is it the UK Lotto or EuroMillions?

The EuroMillions odds have always been worse, but that's not the whole story. They keep changing the structure of both games, which always affects the odds.

So let's find out how this stands now.

IMPORTANT: Ticket Price Matters

Ticket price is always forgotten when people are working out game odds. But that's wrong, because it's CRITICAL to factor this in to know which is easier to win.

Back when the Lotto was still only £1 per line to play, it cost £2 to play EuroMillions (in the UK). That meant you could cover twice as many UK Lotto combinations for exactly the same money.

This makes a huge difference to your real chances of winning.

What Are The Odds Now?

Back in 2016 EuroMillions added an extra Lucky Star ball (going from 11 to 12 – read more in changes to EuroMillions). This made it harder to win.

The year before there were big changes to the UK Lotto, which increased the main balls from 49 up to 59. That dramatically affected the odds for all prizes.

Which Lottery Has Better Odds

But that's not all. The UK Lotto used to be £1 per play, now it's £2 (since 2013). The EuroMillions ticket price has also now increased, from £2 to £2.50 (since 2016). This changes the answer too.

So these are the current odds of winning the jackpot for both games:-

So Which Is Now Better?

If we just look at the odds alone, the EuroMillions odds make it 3.1 times harder to win.

But if we take into account that extra 50p per ticket, it means that the odds of winning EuroMillions vs National Lottery are now 3.8 times worse.

Or in other words, comparing Lotto vs EuroMillions it's now 3.8 times easier to win the National Lottery (i.e. Lotto).

It used to be 8.3 times easier. So whilst things have shifted strongly towards EuroMillions again, Lotto is still easier to win.

Of course EuroMillions has always had a much larger jackpot, particularly with rollovers. This gap has also narrowed too. Because the jackpot odds are tougher there are more rollover draws for UK Lotto, resulting in bigger rollover jackpots.

The two games have become a lot more like each other. But those tougher odds for the big Euro game have long been the reason why a lot of people play in a EuroMillions syndicate of course. With enough people it more than makes up the difference.

Not The End Of Story

But that's not quite the end of the story. Because there is also the UK Millionaire Maker (previously called the Millionaire Raffle), which is included in your EuroMillions ticket price.

We're all about the big prizes, so we don't greatly care that you can win £2.70 for matching 2 balls!

But we do care that you have an extra chance to win £1 Million every draw with Millionaire Maker. So EuroMillions scores a bonus point on this one.

So Which Game Should I Play Now?

What Is More Likely Than Winning The Euromillions

I know a lot of people are disappointed that the UK Lotto is now harder to win. But the increase in the Match 5 + Bonus prize to £1 Million does take some of the sting away.

If you want a game with a better chance of winning the jackpot, the UK Lotto is still the better game. If you want bigger jackpots then EuroMillions still wins out – although the gap is now smaller.

Both games however are also good games to play in a syndicate (for a much better chance of winning), as the jackpot prizes are big enough to share between a decent sized group. So there's never been a better time to start one yourself, or check out our reviews of online syndicates here.

These changes have made UK Lotto a lot more like EuroMillions, but both games are still a lot of fun to play. So don't let our ‘negativity driven' UK media spoil that fun by stopping you from playing!

Keep dreaming big.

Got more questions? Check out our EuroMillions Questions & Answers.

Which Has Better Odds Euromillions Or Lotto 6