Lotto is changing: Going up to £2 per ticket.

I got an email from the lottery people, and it seems the price of the ticket is being raised from £1 to £2 per entry. Although the minimum prize instead of being £10 for 3 numbers, will be £25.

Is this a good idea, desperation, a clever ploy, good marketing, bad marketing...or what?

Any thoughts?

We are writing to let you know about exciting changes that are coming to Lotto later this year, which will give you even more ways to win even more money.

 

It’s important to stress that nothing is happening immediately and the changes won’t take effect until the autumn, but we wanted to let you know about our plans as soon as we could.

 

The changes we’re planning to make include:

bigger prizes for matching three numbers – the prize for matching three numbers will more than double, from £10* to £25*

bigger Jackpots – the average Saturday Jackpot is expected to be around £5 million and Wednesday’s Jackpot will be around £2.5 million

a new Lotto raffle – at least 50 winners will scoop a guaranteed £20,000 in each Lotto draw, with hundreds more winners created on Rollovers

As a result of these exciting changes, the cost of a Lotto line will increase to £2 – the first rise since the game launched in 1994.

 

There will also be changes to the average prize for matching four and five numbers, and five numbers plus the bonus ball.

 

View the prize tiers following the planned changes to Lotto.

 

What won’t be changing, though, is how you play Lotto. You will still choose six numbers from 49 and draws will still run twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. And for every Lotto line you buy, you will automatically receive an entry into the raffle.

That's quite a large rise, 100%! Doesn't matter to me as I haven't bought a ticket in years.

That's quite a large rise, 100%! Doesn't matter to me as I haven't bought a ticket in years.

Yes it is one hell of a rise, but I suppose if you account for inflation since 1994...Hmmm.

It just kinda smacks of desperation to me, as many people who used play, no longer do. Personally I think it might backfire somewhat. Instantly people will have to double whatever spend they currently 'do' on the lottery, and with money as tight as it is, the odds of winning are no better.

Yes it is one hell of a rise, but I suppose if you account for inflation since 1994...Hmmm.

 

It just kinda smacks of desperation to me, as many people who used play, no longer do. Personally I think it might backfire somewhat. Instantly people will have to double whatever spend they currently 'do' on the lottery, and with money as tight as it is, the odds of winning are no better.

It isn't really a price rise. If you bought £10 of tickets hoping to win a million your chances of winning are exactly as before per £1 spent.

I've never understood raffles where they sell you a strip of 5 tickets but draw them out as a strip of 5 afterwards. Just selling you one ticket for the price of 5 and drawing out one at a time wouldn't amount to a price increase.

It isn't really a price rise. If you bought £10 of tickets hoping to win a million your chances of winning are exactly as before per £1 spent.

 

I've never understood raffles where they sell you a strip of 5 tickets but draw them out as a strip of 5 afterwards. Just selling you one ticket for the price of 5 and drawing out one at a time wouldn't amount to a price increase.

Its all part of the vacuous activity called gambling where millions are complicit in their own exploitation.In fact the tickets should be pegged to inflation raising their price to £1.04.

It isn't really a price rise. If you bought £10 of tickets hoping to win a million your chances of winning are exactly as before per £1 spent.

I've never understood raffles where they sell you a strip of 5 tickets but draw them out as a strip of 5 afterwards. Just selling you one ticket for the price of 5 and drawing out one at a time wouldn't amount to a price increase.

Surely if you continue to spend only £10....Instead of getting 10 tickets, you will only get 5. That surely halves your chances of winning any prize? Ok the odds of winning at all remain unchanged.

Surely if you continue to spend only £10....Instead of getting 10 tickets, you will only get 5. That surely halves your chances of winning any prize? Ok the odds of winning at all remain unchanged.

Most people buy raffle tickets or lottery tickets to win prizes, but I suppose if your objective is to have bits of paper for recycling then you will not have so many.

Most people buy raffle tickets or lottery tickets to win prizes, but I suppose if your objective is to have bits of paper for recycling then you will not have so many.

No paper involved when I buy a ticket. it's online.

No paper involved when I buy a ticket. it's online.

So you aren't even losing out on that, so there is absolutely no change in your value for money whatsoever.

Its rather like buying a 2 litre bottle of milk for the price of 2 one litre bottles.. but without the bottles.

Surely if you continue to spend only £10....Instead of getting 10 tickets, you will only get 5. That surely halves your chances of winning any prize? Ok the odds of winning at all remain unchanged.

Agree with you.

To keep on getting 10 tickets is going to cost you £20. Many people will simply not be able to afford this, thus halving their number of tickets to remain at

£10. This effectively halves their chances of winning, although the prizes will be greater.

I would have thought the odds of winning would be halved though, unless you stuck with 10 tickets.

The odds of 6 balls coming up out of 49 will never alter.

Did Euromillion sales go down when it went up to £2?

Agree with you.

To keep on getting 10 tickets is going to cost you £20. Many people will simply not be able to afford this, thus halving their number of tickets to remain at

£10. This effectively halves their chances of winning, although the prizes will be greater.

 

I would have thought the odds of winning would be halved though, unless you stuck with 10 tickets.

 

The odds of 6 balls coming up out of 49 will never alter.

The odds of winning are not halved by buying 5 tickets rather than 10 tickets.

If the actuall odds are 14,000,000 to 1 of winning and you buy 5 different tickets then there is a 13,999,995 to 1 probability of you winning. If you buy ten then there is a 13,999,990 to 1 probability of you winning. Your odds of winning are better, but only by a very tiny fraction of 1%.