National Lottery Lotto adds dual‑draw format, boosting odds

The National Lottery’s Lotto game is launching its most significant change since 1994, with a new "dual draw" format beginning on Wednesday, June 10. The overhaul gives every player two chances to win from a single 2 ticket, promising to create hundreds more millionaires annually, while also reducing the fixed prizes for matching smaller numbers.

Under the new format, each weekly draw—held every Wednesday and Saturday around 8 p.m.—will now consist of two separate rounds. Two different machines will each select six main numbers and a bonus ball from the existing pool of 59 balls. A single Lotto line will be entered into both rounds, meaning players can win in the first round, the second round, or both. The game’s operator, Allwyn, says this improves the overall odds of winning any prize from 1 in 9.3 to 1 in 4.9. Tickets for the new format went on sale on Sunday, June 7.

The company forecasts the change will more than double the number of Lotto millionaires created each year, from roughly 140 to approximately 345. Players will have two routes to a million-pound prize: matching all six main numbers for a jackpot starting at 2 million, or matching five main numbers plus the bonus...