Frustrated Brits burst out of lockdown determined to live it up – splashing out a record £4billion on National Lottery tickets.
Lotto organisers Camelot announced its highest-ever sales from April 1 to September 25 as players spent an extra £107.3million on tickets.
Nearly £2.3bn in prizes were handed out, which is up £30.6m, as 184 lucky new millionaires were created across Britain.
The amount of cash generated for good causes grew 6.5% to £884.5m, while the amount of unclaimed prizes was down 59.1%.
Experts said the economic recovery and National Lottery’s role in supporting British athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics had helped boost sales.
Company chiefs also believe their support of communities during last year’s lockdowns encouraged people to splash out on tickets.
Camelot’s chief executive Nigel Railton said: “We’ve got the year off to a fantastic start.
“And, even though we face a potentially challenging external environment, I am confident that we continue to offer excellent value for money for players.”
It's worth remembering that alongside the headline-grabbing jackpot wins, you can get your money back with smaller prizes – for example by matching just two numbers on the EuroMillions draw.
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Constantly playing EuroMillions can be a drain on the expense over time, so the draw makers offer the chance of two winning numbers to gain a small fee.
It doesn't win you much, but two main numbers will win you the price of your ticket back at £2.50.
Two main numbers and a lucky star will win you slightly more at £3.60, while two main numbers and two lucky stars gets you the best part of a couple of pints with £9.10.
If you only have one main number, you must have also drawn two lucky stars. This will gain you £4.30.
Two main numbers is the absolute minimum for winning a prize on the draw.
Plenty of prizes can be won with three numbers. Thy system basically means the more numbers you get, the more you win.
A full list of the numbers you need and their prizes is below:
- Two main numbers – £2.50
- Two main numbers plus one lucky star – £3.60
- One main number plus two lucky stars – £4.30
- Three main numbers – £6
- Three main numbers plus one lucky star – £7.30
- Two main numbers plus two lucky stars – £9.10
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