Odds of National Lottery win are lower than....

The National Lottery has changed. Camelot introduced more numbers for people to pick from - all the way up to 59. This is designed to make it harder for anyone to win the jackpot - which means it will roll over more often, so that when people do win the jackpot, they get something life-changing. As a result, it's now so difficult to win that a number of bizarre things have become more likely than winning a lottery fortune.
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The changes

To take the sting out of fewer jackpot wins, each lottery will also have a raffle on the side that creates a millionaire in every draw - with another 20 prizes of £20,000. This means your odds of winning £1 million have increased. You will also get a free lucky dip ticket every time you match two numbers.

However, people remain unconvinced, and reactions on social media are overwhelmingly negative. One user tweeted: "National Lottery's new exciting features include, "Extra numbers to choose from." That's a lovely way of saying, "Less chance of winning."", while another added: "Fairly incredible that the National Lottery are spinning the line "Extra numbers to choose from" as a perceived benefit of their changes".

The odds

The odds of winning will change from roughly one in 14 million to 1 in 45 million. It means that a number of unusual things will suddenly become more likely than winning the lottery.

Being killed by your trousers
The Department of Trade and Industry figures reveal that your odds of dying in a trouser-related accident are 30 million to one - which is significantly more likely than winning the lottery.

Becoming a saint
The odds of becoming a saint have been calculated at 20 million to one - so you are more than twice as likely to be canonised as win the lottery.

Being killed by a bee
With odds of 25 million to one, you're far more likely to be killed by a stinging insect than winning the lottery

Being in the cabinet
The BBC has calculated that your odds of being selected to be a serving minister in the cabinet are one in 2.7 million - which is infinitely more likely than winning the lottery. In fact, becoming Prime Minister is only marginally less likely - at one in 62 million.

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