Big changes have been announced for the UK Lotto – the biggest the game has seen in it’s 18 year history.
The National Lottery are referring to the changes as ‘exciting’, but many players are far from happy.
So What Are The Changes Exactly
These are the changes planned for Autumn 2013, and will apply to both the Saturday and Wednesday main UK Lotto game:-
- Increasing the Match 3 prize from £10 to £25
- An expected increase of around 20% to the jackpot
- Reduction in the expected Match 5+Bonus prize from £100,000 to £50,000
- Reduction in the expected Match 5 prize from £1,500 to £1,000
- Increase in the expected Match 4 prize from £60 to £100
- Compulsory add-on Raffle game with 50 guaranteed prizes of £20,000
- Increase in the ticket price from £1 to £2
- Withdrawal of the Plus 5 game
(Note: the use of the word ‘expected’ prize is because winnings of tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 prizes are dependent on sales and number of winners)
So What Do We Have Here
The most significant, and controversial, change of all is clearly the doubling of the ticket price. In part of course to fund the extra prizes for Raffle game, which replaces the Plus 5 add-on game.
This is even more controversial as Plus 5 was an optional extra – the new Raffle is not optional.
So whilst we do have 50 extra prizes of £20,000 that each ticket could win, it will effectively become twice as hard to win all of the other prizes.
Because you will only get half as many tickets for the same money spent.
How About That Jackpot Then?
The potential increase to the jackpot will interest some, and probably those playing in syndicates more so.
But it is a fairly minor improvement particularly when compared to the ticket price increase. And the disappointing reduction in the size of the other big prizes.
Just to be clear – the changes won’t increase the number of other prizes paid out for the Lotto game itself as the structure of that game is not changing.
It will still be a 6 balls from 49 game.
Why The Changes?
Camelot say the changes are simply to give lottery players what they have asked for, following ‘extensive’ research.
They say players wanted more ways to win.
It’s not easy however to see how the changes really achieve this in any great way. As the only extra prizes here are the 50 prizes from the Raffle game, a total of £1 Million.
The Plus 5 add-on game offered more ways to win for those that wanted it. And it has been paying in excess of 20,000 extra prizes per draw.
Without imposing the extra cost of that game on those that didn’t want to pay extra.
Perhaps Plus 5 was simply a testing ground to see if players would stomach a ticket price increase?
Players Are Not Happy
Players have been quick to make their opinions known, and both Facebook and Twitter are ablaze with comments.
But so far the opinion seems heavily against the price rise.
Particularly on the UK Lotto’s official Facebook page, where they have been inundated with hundreds of comments already.
It’s difficult to find any comments supporting the changes, despite Camelot insistance they are giving players what they wanted.
One Twitter poll puts the figures as high as 80.6% against the change, with players going so far as to suggest a boycott of the game altogether.
[Poll results thanks to ifyouwereincharge.co.uk and Tim Lovejoy]
Players who feel strongly are already mobilising, with an e-petition against the change already in place and a Facebook group to keep the lottery at £1.
So What Do You Think?
Do these changes give you what you wanted as a player of the UK Lotto?
Will you continue to play as before? Or will you play less combinations and stick to the same budget?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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References:-
Official announcement from the UK National Lottery – http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/lottonews.ftl
Your Comments ↓
I just hope everyone can see that the odds of winning a prize are no different.
5 raffle millionaires…?
Big Wow… Not.
They had no reason to increase the ticket price unless they were seriously increasing our chances of a prize. Even a small win for matching 2 numbers would have been something but sadly, for whatever reason, Camelot don’t see this or choose to ignore it. No wonder people feel foul play here…
The obvious way to increase peoples chances is to reduce the number of balls to say 45 instead of 49 therefore giving us a much better chance of picking up a prize. The price should remain at £1 per ticket. More people would play at a 1 in 8,000,000 rather than the current 1 in 14,000,000 chance.
I think increasing the ticket price will no doubt put people off playing. It’s hard enough to win as it is. It’s very rare for me to match 3 numbers let alone 5 which I have never matched. So I don’t think I will ever be a big winner.
I would love for Camelot to show members of the press and the Government the surveys that they have carried out asking for these changes to be made. I personally think it is Camelot bosses who wish to line their pockets even more at the publics expense.
In these times of osterity when wages are going down not up, 1% increase in benefits, withdrawal of benefits because some companies have been told to get sick and disabled back to work or you don’t get any money, when child benefits have been withdrawn, the list goes on and on and on, to put the prices up per game will backfire on them because people can not afford to pay the extra.
What will happen, is, people will pay the same and have less games. Or will give up on the National Lottery and go to other lotteries, like the Irish lottery, instead.
Well done Camelot, I personally hope you go bankrupt…
Its a good excuse not to play anymore.
I wasn’t happy when they changed it to twice a week, and even less so when they introduced all the other different draws. I rarely win anyway so forking out £2 per draw is a no no. I don’t think we will continue with our syndicate either, we are in a recession and people are struggling anyway. It is bad timing.
The Euromillions will be a better option.
I also stopped playing the Health Lottery when they kept messing around with it. I thought it was worth it with the extra prize draws but not just for the £100,000 alone!
I will stick to my premium bonds when the Lottery goes up. Might be a monthly draw but the subscription is refundable.
Hi
I for one will stop doing the lottery I run a small syndicate and my members have voted to have a go at the football pools. We also do the scrathcards but they are not a good bet, if you go online to UK lottery you only see winnings of up to £100, never any more than this. The only winner is Camelot.
Regards, Ron Smith
Ratners springs to mind.
There are cheaper games elsewhere. Also Euromillions is the same price with vastly superior prizes. I for one won’t be playing Lotto again if these changes are made.
I will now change to the Health Lottery because of the extra £1.
I could pay for 2 or 3 games twice a week at 1 pound a line but not 2 pounds per line, I notice the odds of winning have not changed.
I would prefer to go back to a weekly draw with larger prizes. I wouldn’t mind paying extra for that. I am in a UK syndicate looking for a big win – not small amounts. We have had to cut the syndicate to one day a week now.
I think there are now too many draws. They have done exactly what the government said they didn’t want which is encourage people to become obsessive gamblers. I work in a shop and a lot of people spend most of their income/pensions on scratch cards. One man spends about £300 a week on lottery and hot picks.
I think the distribution of winnings needs addressing, i.e. like a bigger prize for 3 numbers. I think the Euro, like the Thunderball, should give a prize if you get the correct lucky stars even without any main numbers. I still think its all a bit of a rip-off really, and the changes are not that good to be fair.