We Told You So... Say Players When UK National Lottery Numbers Fail To Attract Jackpot Winner

The UK National Lottery kicked off on Saturday with the newly increased ball numbers.

The first UK National Lottery game with an increase to 69 balls was drawn last night, and no-one claimed the jackpot prize.

As many people predicted, the increase would make the top prize harder to win. That seems to have happened.

UK National Lottery presenter Gaby Roslin. PHOTO: The Mirror

Camelot has claimed the enhancements they've brought in will actually provide a better chance of winning and believes players will "stay with the game."

Wednesday's rollover prize is an estimated £7.7 million.

The winning Lotto numbers were 32, 02, 53, 16, 54, 03 and the bonus number was 08.

Twenty-five ticket holders won £1 million in the Millionaire Raffle, in addition to the twenty £20,000 winners.

The changes have seen the number of balls increase from 49 to 59 and the chance of winning the jackpot decrease from one in 14 million to one in 45 million.

The UK National Lottery game draw recorded live.

Under the changes:

A new Millionaire Raffle will guarantee at least one millionaire per draw
The average winning jackpot is expected to be triple the current level
The chances of winning at least £1 million will be better than the chances of winning the jackpot on the current game
The odds of that are now one in just under 10 million compared with one in just under 14 million on yesterday's game
Players who match two numbers will win a Lucky Dip ticket for a future draw

The cost of playing will remain at £2 a line, and other prizes such as £25 for matching three numbers will also stay the same.

ABOUT: UK National Lottery

The UK National Lottery was first drawn on November 19, 1994. Half all all money spent by players goes to the prize fund, with:

28 per cent to good causes
12 per cent to the Government as duty
5 per cent to retailers
5 per cent to Camelot, which has operated the lottery throughout its history.

The largest ever jackpot for the main Lotto game was £42,008,610, drawn in January 1996, and split between three anonymous winners, with each being awarded £14,002,870.