Three special draws and new Lotto rule for National Lottery

Camelot, the National Lottery operator, has announced a series of special draws for September and an upcoming change to Lotto.

The three special draws, with hundreds of millions of pounds up for grabs, will provide much-needed boost to retailers, the firm said.

“We’ve got three fantastic draws lined up in September to get National Lottery players excited, as well as to provide a commission and footfall boost for our 44,000 retail partners,” commented Neil Brocklehurst, commercial director at Camelot.

“Kicking off the month with a Lotto £20 million ‘Must Be Won’ draw, retailers could boost their sales by over 30%. This will then be closely followed by two incredible EuroMillions draws – one which will make 20 guaranteed millionaires and one with a boosted jackpot of over £100 million – which could lead to a massive 80% retail sales increase, when compared to a normal EuroMillions draw,” Brocklehurst explained.

The new Lotto rule, effective from 7 November, will see around a million people win a fiver in certain ‘Must Be Won’ draws.

Players who match two main numbers in a Lotto ‘Must Be Won’ draw where no one matches all six main numbers to win the jackpot outright will also scoop a share of the jackpot – winning £5 in addition to their free Lucky Dip (previously the jackpot was only shared between cash prize winners) – while each of the other prize tiers can still expect to receive a share of the jackpot, resulting in boosted prizes.

This is the first time a cash prize has been available for matching two main numbers on Lotto, and Camelot said this can generate more footfall for retailers.

“In terms of Lotto, the changes we made a couple of years ago are continuing to prove really popular – particularly the ‘Must Be Won’ draws where, when the jackpot isn’t won outright, it rolls down to all of the other cash prize winners. But we’re always looking at ways to make our games even better, and one thing that Match 2 winners were regularly telling us was that they wanted a share of the jackpot too,” Brocklehurst added.

“We know an unexpected extra fiver – which could be spent on a box of chocolates, a book or magazine, or to treat a friend to a coffee – can really put a smile on someone’s face. For our retail partners, on top of the usual commission they make on the free Lucky Dip and paying out some of the other boosted prizes, this will mean a significant number of players reinvesting their £5 win back in store.”

The ‘Big September’ special draws, supported by in-store POS and a variety of other advertising, will kick off with a £20 million Lotto ‘Must Be Won’ draw on 5 September. This will then be followed by two mega EuroMillions draws – one guaranteeing 20 UK millionaires on 18 September and one offering a boosted jackpot of over £100 million on 25 September.

There will be a special ‘Must Be Won’ draw to launch the change to Lotto when it comes into effect in November, as well as a series of festive draws to drive excitement around Christmas and New Year.