We have all dreamt of winning the lottery at some point in our lives, but which lottery actually gives you the best odds of winning?
Gaming expert Francisc Csiki from online casinos comparison service CasinoAlpha has revealed a fascinating guide to the likelihood of winning UK lotteries and some top tips that could increase your chances.
He says EuroMillions provides the biggest jackpot, but choosing the winning numbers is unlikely. This is generally the case for all options: a high maximum prize is counter-balanced by low odds. For the EuroMillions, for example, there is a 1 in 139,838,160 chance of winning the jackpot but a 1 in 13 chance of winning any amount of payout.
Others are often drawn to UK lotteries because part of their revenues goes into funding for good causes.
For this, the People’s Postcode draws have the most generous donations, with 33 per cent of all revenues going to good causes. The Irish lottery comes in second with 30 per cent.
Which lottery has the biggest chance of winning?
For your best chances of success, the People’s Postcode draw is the go-to game – an option further recommended considering the high revenue margin donated.
Participants can play in daily, biweekly, and monthly draws, with jackpots of £1,000, £30,000, and £7.9 million. The daily draw awards the money to one winner in 20 postcodes, and the Saturday and Sunday draws provide the award to a player in one postcode. The monthly draw money is spread among one postcode area’s participants.
However, receiving a return for entering the raffle does not mean you will necessarily break even.
Odds of winning UK lotteries
| The odds of winning the UK lotteries | |||
| UK lotteries | Maximum prize | Max win odds / entry | Any payout chance |
| People’s Postcode Lotto | £7.9m (divided in a postcode area) | 1 in 1,080,000 | 1 in 1.3 |
| Health Millions | £5m | 1 in 79,453,500 | 1 in 3 |
| Lotto | £5m | 1 in 45,057,474 | 1 in 9.3 |
| UK Powerball | £4.2m | 1 in 79,453,500 | 1 in 9.3 |
| Lotto HotPicks | £350000 | 1 in 834,398 | 1 in 10 |
| Millionaire Maker | £1m | 1 in 1,900,000 | 1 in 10 |
| EuroMillions | €220m | 1 in 139,838,160 | 1 in 13 |
| Set for Life | £10000/m (30 years) | 1 in 15,339,390 | 1 in 15 |
| Health Lottery | £250000 | 1 in 2,118,760 | 1 in 16 |
| EuroMillions HotPicks | £1m | 1 in 2,118,760 | 1 in 22 |
| Thunderball | £500000 | 1 in 8,060,598 | 1 in 29 |
| Free Lottery | £100000 | 1 in 10,737,573 | 1 in 29 |
| Irish Lotto | €2m minimum | 1 in 10,737,573 | 1 in 29 |
Related: Set For Life Results for Thursday 19 January 2023 Tonight’s winning numbers
