(Redirected from Heritage Lottery Fund):''For the Republic of Ireland's National Lottery, see
National Lottery (Ireland).
A "play here!" sign outside a newsagent, incorporating the National Lottery's logo of a stylised hand with crossed fingers which emulates a smiling face.
The 'National Lottery' is the
United Kingdom's largest
lottery. It is operated by
Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in
1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by The National Lottery Commission. The National Lottery undertook a major rebranding programme in 2002 designed to combat falling sales. This resulted in the main game being renamed ''Lotto''. However, the games as a collective are still known as ''The National Lottery''. It is one of the most popular forms of
gambling in the United Kingdom.
All prizes are paid as a lump sum and are tax-free. Of every
pound (£) spent on Lottery games, 50 pence (p) goes to the prize fund, 28p to good causes as set out by
Parliament (though some of this is considered by some to be a
stealth tax[1] levied to support the New Opportunities fund, a fund constituted to support public spending
[2]), 12p to the
British Government as duty and 5p to retailers as commission, while Camelot receives 4.5p to cover operating costs and 0.5p profit
[1]. Players must be at least 16 years of age to participate in the lottery, either in the drawn lottery games or by purchase of lottery scratchcards.
There are twelve different machines that can be used for the Lotto draw. The machine and set of lottery balls to be used is selected at random, and is announced just prior to the draw. The machines are designated Merlin, Arthur, Galahad, Vyvyan, Lancelot, Garnet, Topaz, Opal, Amethyst, Moonstone, Pearl and Sapphire. Guinevere has also been a designated machine in the past but has now been retired. Ball sets, of which there are eight, are designated by number.
Games
A National Lottery ticket with two sets of numbers for the main Lotto draw, and an unused "Dream Number" generated by "Lucky Dip".
Several games operate under the National Lottery brand:
Lotto
Six numbers are drawn from a set of individually numbered balls with numbers in the range 1–49, as well as a further bonus ball. Balls, once drawn, are not returned to the draw machine, therefore each ball (including the bonus ball) can only be drawn once per Lotto draw. Players choose six different numbers by a method of their own choosing at the time they purchase a ticket. Ticket issuing machines can generate a random set of play numbers as a so–called ''Lucky Dip''. Prizes are awarded to players who match at least three of the six drawn numbers with increasing prize value for matching more of the drawn numbers. In addition to the six drawn numbers, an additional number is drawn as the ''Bonus Ball''. The bonus ball is only relevant to those players who match five of the six drawn numbers, whereby those players matching exactly five of the drawn numbers who also match the bonus ball receive a larger prize than those matching just 5 of the drawn numbers. Anyone matching all six drawn numbers wins a share of the
jackpot; the chance of doing so is 1 in 13,983,816. For players matching at least four of the drawn balls the prize value is dependent on the total number of players also matching the same number of balls in that the prize fund is divided equally between all players matching that number of drawn numbers. In the event that no player matches all six of the drawn numbers the jackpot is accumulated into the next Lotto draw, a so–called ''Rollover''. This accumulation is limited to three consecutive draws. Rollover is a common occurrence, happening once every few draws, though a three week roll-over is a rather less common occurrence having happened only twice to date.
The price of entry to Lotto is £1 per set of six chosen numbers.
The draw is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Saturday draws started on
November 19,
1994, under the name 'National Lottery'. The first Wednesday draw was on
February 5,
1997. All draws are shown live on
BBC One in the UK, with the Saturday draw shown as a segment in a range of different Lottery branded gameshows throughout the year.
The game was rebranded 'Lotto' in 2002.
The Lotto prize fund is 45 percent of draw sales. Camelot state that the 3 ball prize winners are calculated first, these receive £10 each; the remaining prize fund is then divided as shown in the table below and split equally with the number of winners for each selection:
| Match | Prize | Approximate odds |
|---|
| 3 numbers | £10 | 56:1 (i.e. 1 in 57) |
| 4 numbers | 22% of remaining fund | 1,031:1 |
| 5 numbers | 10% of remaining fund | 55,490:1 |
| 5 numbers and bonus ball | 16% of remaining fund | 2,330,635:1 |
| 6 numbers | 52% of remaining fund | 13,983,815:1 (i.e. 1 in 13,983,816) |
The 6/49 mentioned above also had an optional add-on game known as Extra which could be played for an additional £1. However, its only prize was for matching all six regular numbers drawn for the 6/49 jackpot (there were no lower-tier prizes; you lost even if you matched five). It was discontinued in 2006.
Lotto Hotpicks
Lotto Hotpicks uses the main Lotto draw for its numbers but is a different game. The player chooses both the numbers ''and'' the number of draw balls they want to try and match (up to a maximum of five balls). However, if the player does not match ''all'' the numbers chosen, it is not a winner. The National Lottery describe Hotpicks as "Five games in one", because the player has a choice of five ways of playing the game, each offering different odds and payouts.
The odds and payouts are as follows:
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|
| 1 number | £5 | 1: 9 |
| 2 numbers | £40 | 1: 79 |
| 3 numbers | £450 | 1: 922 |
| 4 numbers | £7 000 | 1: 14,126 |
| 5 numbers | £130 000 | 1: 317,814 |
Thunderball
Thunderball was launched on
June 7,
1999. Players pick five main numbers from 1 to 34 and one 'Thunderball' number from 1 to 14, for an entry fee of £1. Draws currently take place every Saturday and Wednesday. The first mid-week Thunderball was on
October 17,
2002.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|
| 1 + Thunderball | £5 | 1: 33 |
| 2 + Thunderball | £10 | 1: 107 |
| 3 numbers | £10 | 1: 74 |
| 3 + Thunderball | £20 | 1: 960 |
| 4 numbers | £100 | 1: 2,067 |
| 4 + Thunderball | £250 | 1: 26,866 |
| 5 numbers | £5 000 | 1: 299,661 |
| 5 + Thunderball | £250 000 | 1: 3,895,584 |
Dream Number
Dream Number was launched on
July 15,
2006. Dream Number involves generating a random seven digit number for entry into the draw. It can be played independently of ''Lotto'', or if played with ''Lotto'' one Dream Number is generated per ticket, not per lotto entry. The cost of entry is £1. A dream number is automatically printed on every lotto ticket bought, whether the player has chosen to enter it into the draw or not. Unlike other ''Lotto'' games, it is not possible to choose the number entered, and the order that the numbers are drawn is important, since the numbers must be matched ''in order'' for the player to win. All money raised for good causes from Dream Number will go towards the
2012 Summer Olympics and
2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|
| 1st number only | £2 | 1: 11.12 |
| 1st 2 numbers | £10 | 1: 111.12 |
| 1st 3 numbers | £100 | 1: 1,111.2 |
| 1st 4 numbers | £500 | 1: 11,112 |
| 1st 5 numbers | £5 000 | 1: 111,112 |
| 1st 6 numbers | £50 000 | 1: 1,111,112 |
| all 7 numbers | £500 000 | 1: 10,000,000 |
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 10.
Source: National Lottery Players Guide
Scratchcards
As well as draw tickets, the National Lottery sells (through newsagents, supermarkets, and so on)
scratchcards.
These are small pieces of card where an area has been covered by a thin layer of opaque (and usually designed according to the particular card) latex that can be scratched off. Under this area are concealed the items/pictures that must be found in order to win.
The generic scratchcard requires the player to match three of the same prize amounts. If this is accomplished, they win that amount, the highest possible being £100,000. Other scratchcards involve matching symbols, pictures or words.
The majority of National Lottery scratchcards are sold for £1. Larger scratchcards with two or more chances to win or a larger than usual maximum cash prize, for example £250,000, cost £2. There are also scratchcards available for £5.
Daily Play
The Daily Play draw can be played every day but Sunday & Christmas Day. By selecting 7 numbers between 1 and 27, players can win anything from a free lucky-dip to £30,000. The draw is well known for giving its players the chance to win a free daily play lucky-dip for not matching any numbers in the draw.
The draw currently has no live broadcast. The results on Saturdays are recorded and announced during the live broadcast of the Lotto, Dream Number and Thunderball draws on
BBC One. The Daily Play draw can, however, be watched every day online via the BBC's website.
| Match | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|
| 0 numbers | £1 Daily Play
Lucky Dip Ticket | 1: 11.5 |
| 4 numbers | £5 | 1: 22.3 |
| 5 numbers | £30 | 1: 222.6 |
| 6 numbers | £300 | 1: 6,343.1 |
| 7 numbers | £30 000 | 1: 888,030 |
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 7.4
Source: National Lottery Daily Play Game Rules & Procedures
EuroMillions
On Saturday
7 February 2004 the lottery organisation Camelot launched a pan-
European lottery: EuroMillions. The first draw took place on Friday
13 February 2004 in
Paris. The UK,
France and
Spain were involved initially. Lotteries from
Austria,
Belgium,
Ireland,
Luxembourg,
Portugal and
Switzerland joined the draw on
8 October 2004 and the draws are currently made in Paris, and shown in the UK on
UKTV Gold.
The odds of winning the Jackpot is 1 in 76,275,360.
Olympic Lottery
Following the success of London's bid to host the
2012 Summer Olympics, Olympic Lottery Scratchcards were launched on
27 July 2005 under the brand name "Go for Gold". 28% of the price of £1 goes to the
Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund, and the scratchcards are intended to raise £750,000,000 ($1,456,836,819) towards the cost of running the games.
The National Lottery on television
The National Lottery is well represented on several TV game shows, including
Jet Set with
Eamonn Holmes, and
1 vs. 100 with
Dermot O'Leary, all on
BBC One. These game shows take a break at various points for
The National Lottery draws. The Draws have their own five minute slot on BBC One on Wednesdays, which is hosted by various alternating presenters.
Good causes
It was announced during the live Saturday night draw show on
30 March 2007 that The National Lottery has so far raised £20 billion ($39.2 billion) for good causes, a programme which distributes money via grants. 28% of lottery revenue goes towards the fund, along with all unclaimed prizes. Additionally, 12% goes to the state. The prize fund is 50% of revenue, with the remaining 10% going towards running costs and profits for the lottery organisers and ticket sellers.
The distribution of money to good causes is not the responsibility of the operator (Camelot). It is the responsibility of The National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), administered by the government
Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Unclaimed prizes
Winning tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the draw taking place. If a prize is unclaimed within that time, it is distributed through the Lotto's Good Causes fund. The highest unclaimed prize distributed this way to date was a winning ticket worth £9,476,995 which expired at 17.30 GMT on Monday,
2 January 2006 [2]. This ticket was the 24th prize in excess of one million pounds to be unclaimed.
Regulation
The National Lottery is regulated by the 'National Lottery Commission' - a
non-departmental public body reporting to the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Until
1 April 1999 the National Lottery was regulated by the 'Office of the National Lottery' (known by the
acronym 'OFLOT').
The Lottery was set up in 1993 under the
National Lottery etc Act 1993 [3] and was reformed under the
National Lottery Act 1998 [4] and the
National Lottery Act 2006 [5]
Machine appearances
Below is a table of how many times each machine has appeared in the main National Lottery, or Lotto game.
As of September 5, 2007:
| Machine | Appearances |
|---|
| Arthur | 238 |
| Guinevere | 190 |
| Lancelot | 181 |
| Amethyst | 128 |
| Merlin | 108 |
| Moonstone | 66 |
| Topaz | 64 |
| Opal | 56 |
| Galahad | 52 |
| Vyvyan | 48 |
| Sapphire | 42 |
| Pearl | 32 |
| Garnet | 16 |
See also
★
Millennium Commission
References
1. New lottery fund 'not a stealth tax'
2. The overwhelming case for paying stealth taxes Samuel Brittan, 'The Financial Times' 25 October 1999.as the Jamie Wilson The Guardian 30 January 1999
External links
★
National Lottery website.
★
National Lottery Commission.
★
Department for Culture / NLDF website.
★
Heritage Lottery Fund.
★
The National Lottery Awards The annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery funded projects.
National Lottery in the news
★
The lottery's winners and losers — a
BBC news article about the National Lottery's first ten years.
★
London's Olympic Agenda from
BBC News.
★
"Ten years of the Lottery", ''
New Statesman'' special supplement,
8 November 2004.
★
''The Lottery — it shouldn't be you'' —
The Times,
January 27 2006 — an article scathing of the Lottery.
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