National Lottery's huge shake-up: what it means for you
The National Lottery is set to introduce the biggest change in its 21 year history - by adding ten more balls to the lottery machines.
Camelot says the changes will give you a better chance of winning a prize of some sort, better odds of becoming a millionaire, and will triple the jackpot. However, there's no getting away from the fact that these changes will make it much harder to win the jackpot.
From October this year it will add ten more balls to the draw, which means punters will have to pick their selection of 6 numbers from 59 instead of 49.
The bad news
The downside - and something that's not going to go down well with those who play the lottery - is that this will make it harder to win the jackpot.
On Twitter the overwhelming majority of commentators have felt ripped off by the changes. One user said: "6 from 59 - surely that massively changes the odds even more in your favour? Feels like a con I'm afraid." Another added: "spin it whatever way u like, this is a terrible, terrible deal for players." And a third said: "You have ruined this lottery".
For those who play regular numbers - either individually or as part of a syndicate - this will also mean you may want to reconsider the numbers you play. If you are involved in a large syndicate, coming to an agreement about something like this can be a stressful business.
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The good news
However, Camelot is at pains to point out that there is good news in this announcement too. Because the jackpots are harder to win, it means there will be more rollovers, so the average winning jackpot is expected to be three times the current level.
The odds on becoming a millionaire will also increase, because it will introduce a Millionaire Raffle with at least two millionaires each week - one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. It means that the odds of winning £1 million will be better than the odds of winning the jackpot on the current game (under 10 million-to-one compared with 14 million-to-one today). It means it's easier to win a life-changing sum of money than before.
It's also easier to win small, because in another twist, if you match two numbers in any draw, you will immediately win a free Lucky Dip ticket for a future draw. It will dramatically increase your odds of becoming a winner of some kind, from 1 in 54 to one in 9.3, so there will be an extra 1.8 million winners a week.
There are, of course, those who aren't impressed by the idea of winning small. One Twitter user commented: "More chances to win a prize, I'm sure that everyone will be really excited to get a free lucky dip."
But what do you think? Will this make you more or less likely to play the lottery.
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