The UK Lotto has changed its format, and the headline sounds generous: one £2 line now gives you two chances to win.
That’s true. From 7 June 2026, every Lotto line is entered into two draw rounds instead of one. The first draw under the new format takes place on Wednesday, 10 June, with two sets of six main balls and a Bonus Ball drawn from separate machines.
The odds of winning any prize now look much better. Allwyn says the chance of landing a prize has moved from 1 in 9.3 to 1 in 4.9.
The catch? Better odds of winning something don’t automatically mean better jackpot value.
What Changed With UK Lotto?
Each £2 Lotto line now gives you two chances to win in the same Wednesday or Saturday draw.
You still pick six numbers from 1 to 59. The ticket price is still £2 per line. The main difference is that your numbers now go into two separate rounds:
- Round 1: six main numbers plus a Bonus Ball are drawn
- Round 2: another six main numbers plus a Bonus Ball are drawn
- Your same line is entered into both rounds
- You can win in Round 1, Round 2, or both
In simple terms, one Lotto ticket now acts more like two attempts with the same numbers.
Lotto HotPicks is also moving to the two-round format, while staying at £1 per line.
Why the Odds Look Better
The main selling point is the improved overall chance of winning any prize.
Before the change, Allwyn listed the chance of winning a Lotto prize at 1 in 9.3. Under the new format, that improves to 1 in 4.9.
That’s a big shift on paper. It means more tickets should return some kind of prize, especially at the lower tiers.
Allwyn also expects the number of Lotto millionaires to rise from around 140 a year to roughly 345. That comes from two routes to a £1m-plus prize:
- Match six main numbers for the jackpot
- Match five main numbers plus the Bonus Ball for a fixed £1m prize
For casual players, that’s the obvious appeal. More draws, more prize events, and more chances to see something back on the ticket.
The Catch: More Winners Doesn’t Mean Easier Jackpots
The useful detail is the difference between “winning any prize” and winning a life-changing prize.
The new format improves your chance of winning something because each line gets two rounds. But Lotto is still a long-odds game. You’re still picking six numbers from 59, and the biggest prizes are still hard to hit.
That matters because lottery marketing usually focuses on the improved headline odds. A jump from 1 in 9.3 to 1 in 4.9 sounds like a major value boost.
It is better if your goal is simply to see more winning tickets. It’s less clear whether your goal is pure expected value, because the prize structure, jackpot-sharing rules, and lower-tier payouts still determine how much value is actually being returned.
This is the part worth remembering: more frequent small wins can make a game feel better without making the top prize much easier to land.
What Happens to Jackpots and Prizes?
Lotto jackpots still start at £2 million and can roll over up to five times.
If there’s no jackpot winner after the fifth rollover, the sixth draw becomes a must-be-won event. That part matters because it can push prize money down to lower tiers if no one matches all six main numbers.
The two-round structure also means the jackpot is shared across both rounds. Other prize tiers remain fixed cash prizes and are paid per round.
That creates a slightly different feel from the old game. More chances to hit a prize, but also more moving parts when you compare the headline jackpot with what each prize tier actually pays.
Why Allwyn Needed a Bigger Lotto Story
This change isn’t only about players. It’s also a business move.
Allwyn has been trying to refresh the National Lottery after taking over the licence from Camelot in 2024. The operator has already carried out a major technology upgrade across digital accounts, apps, websites, and retail terminals.
The new Lotto format gives Allwyn a cleaner message to push: same price, two chances, more millionaires.
That’s easy to understand. It also gives retailers, apps, and lottery adverts a stronger hook than a standard jackpot rollover.
There’s another reason this matters. Lotto is one of the most recognisable gambling products in the UK, but it competes for attention with instant-win games, scratchcards, online casino-style products, betting apps, and huge EuroMillions jackpots.
Two chances per ticket gives the main Lotto draw a fresh selling point without changing the £2 price.
Powerball Is the Next Bigger Test
The Lotto change is only part one of Allwyn’s summer lottery push.
A UK-specific version of Powerball is also due to launch, subject to final regulatory approval. Allwyn says UK players will be able to play for a shared mega jackpot alongside US players, with UK jackpot winners paid over 30 years.
That payout detail matters. A £1bn-plus headline jackpot will grab attention, but a long annuity-style payout is very different from a lump-sum prize.
For lottery fans, Powerball may be the more exciting launch. For value-focused players, the question will be the same as with Lotto: what are the odds, what are the prize tiers, and how much of the ticket price is really being returned?
Betfinder Take
The new Lotto format is better if you like more frequent chances of winning from the same £2 line. The move from 1 in 9.3 to 1 in 4.9 for any prize is a real improvement, not just marketing fluff.
But don’t confuse “more likely to win something” with “good betting value.”
Lotto is still built around very long odds, big prize stories, and low-frequency life-changing wins. The new format gives players more action for the same price, which is welcome. The real value still depends on what you’re trying to get from the ticket.
If you play for fun, two chances per line is clearly better than one.
If you play looking for an edge, the answer hasn’t changed much. Lotteries are still entertainment first, value bet second.
Sources
- New Lotto (national-lottery.co.uk)
- Two Huge New National Lottery Games Launching This Summer (allwyn.co.uk)
- Allwyn Readies Retailers for New Lotto Rollout Ahead of Tickets Going on Sale on Sunday (allwyn.co.uk)
- National Lottery Shake-Up Rolls Out This Week (thesun.co.uk)
- National Lottery Operator Allwyn Turns Corner Despite Sales Dip (thetimes.com)
