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About The National Lottery:
As the licensed operator of the UK National Lottery, Camelot's prime business objective is to maximise returns to the Good Causes in the most efficient and socially responsible way. While Camelot is committed to raising money for the Good Causes designated by Parliament through the sale of National Lottery games, it is not responsible for distributing or awarding these funds. Camelot manages the National Lottery infrastructure, designs new games, develops the marketing support for lottery products, provides services for players and winners, and runs the network that sells tickets to players in partnership with 26,000 retailers UK-wide.
When it comes to gambling and big money wins, The National Lottery is perhaps the most well known in the UK. Even people who don't consider themselves as "gamblers" will no doubt rush down to the local newsagents to pick up their lottery tickets, then sit down in front of the television on Wednesdays and Saturdays in hope their six numbers come up. If they do happen to come up, then chances are you'll be recognised across the media as the next UK millionaire. What a lot of people don't know, however, is that The National Lottery also has a website, and on this site you can not only buy tickets, but you can also divulge in some instant win scrathcard games.
It's no doubt true that we're all budding gamblers in some form or other, hence the common phrase "I bet you can't do this...." Of course, mention gambling and people instantly think of casino's, poker and sport's betting. Well, to be frank, they're probably right. The National Lottery, however, is not your standard gambling site. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a lottery (surprisingly). But when you pay money on games in hope of turning that into more money, we call that gambling. So, we thought it was best to give The National Lottery website some coverage.
First and foremost, The National Lottery site is about the weekly draw. A fast and easy way to get your lottery ticket and have email confirmation of a win. As far as this goes, it is the best way to buy your ticket. You can even buy them weeks in advance, selecting your draw day and number of ticket, and the site will also save your previously played numbers or you can select a lucky dip. This is great if you're one of those players (like me) who will keep the same numbers until the year long holiday in the Caribbean comes calling. Sure, we can all dream, but you have to be in it to win it and it could be you (or me)!
Anyhow, there are so many draws these days it's hard to keep up. There's Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball, Lotto HotPicks, Dream Number and Daily Play. Lotto is the main draw, in which you spend £1 and choose six meaningful (in some cases) numbers. If all six of your numbers come out of the pot, then you're a millionaire (unless thousands of others have the same numbers of course). You can win a small amount of money for matching 3 numbers plus, so you don't need to give up hope if the first ball out is not one of your six. These draws happen on Wednesday and Saturday evenings on television, but if you miss it, the website will email you the results and inform you if you've won anything at all. In this case, no news is bad news.
EuroMillions is the draw that gets most people buying tickets these day. The same rules apply as Lotto only this time most of Europe is involved, meaning more prize money (and less chance of winning it). Euro Millions has recently gone up to £2, but with this you are in for a chance of winning a separate one million pounds with Millionaire Raffle. This is a guaranteed one million for a lucky UK resident. Perhaps many will agree the 50p ticket increase is worth the payout, with two prizes to aim for.
Thunderball is another draw that takes place twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday). Players pick five main numbers from 1 to 34 and one 'Thunderball' number from 1 to 14, for an entry fee of £1. Match your Thunderball number, plus one other number to begin the winning. The more you match, the more you win, up to a jackpot of £250,000. It's another version of Lotto, but with a prize that's not as much. Luckily the big prize doesn't have to be shared with anyone else if you do match all the numbers, plus the Thunderball.
Lotto Hotpicks uses the same numbers from the Lotto draw, but it gives you the "chance to win bigger prizes for picking and matching fewer Lotto numbers." For £1, you first decide how many numbers you want to pick, out of five, then choose those number. If you select a pick of three, then you choose three numbers from 1 - 49. If all of your numbers are picked, you win. The jackpot for Hotpicks is £130,000, which isn't anything to moan at. Naturally, the less numbers you pick, the less money you could win.
In Dream Number you need to select 7 digits. To win, these numbers have to been drawn in the exact same order as you've chosen, to win up to £500,000. You can select to play Dream Number on its own, or you can be enticed to play it alongside Lotto, as the option is on the same ticket form. Proceeds from this game go towards the 2010 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games fund. So even if you don't win, at least the money goes to a good cause, regardless of whether you're a sport fan or not.
Finally, Daily Play gives you the chance to win everyday (apart from Sunday), with a daily top prize of £30,000. All you need to do is select seven numbers between 1 and 27. Match a minimum of 4 numbers to win a prize and match all to win the jackpot. So as you can see there's plenty of lotto options, which adds variety to the game, rather than the simple pick of six numbers. The lottery has never been easier and this varied.
Apart from the lottery draws, the website includes an array of Instant Win scratchcard games, matching numbers and symbols in themed games. These cost around £1 - £2 per game, which can win you big money instantly. Not millions, but the average prize is £50 - 60k, which is not bad at all for a quick and cheap play, and are basically the online version of retail scratchcards.
You're not forced to spend large amounts of money during your trip to the site. You can credit your account with a minimum of £5 and maximum of £350, and spend it as you wish over time. It's entirely up to you what draws you want to enter and how many tickets you would like. The instant wins are there to entice you if you want them, as are scratchcards in the shops.
Camelot put a lot of their profits to a good cause, which can be viewed on the site. It's not often an gambling site gives money back to the community, restoring old landmarks, building activity centres, grants etc. Therefore, if you don't win big, at least you know your money is going to a good cause, that perhaps might benefit you or your children at some point.
The National Lottery is only open to residents of the UK and Isle of Man. Whereas most gambling sites are for adults aged 18 and above, you're allowed to spend money on the lottery from 16 years of age. It's actually become a tradition that all 16 year olds receive a lottery ticket in a birthday card, though in all likelihoods, 99.99% of them haven't wound up celebrating with a few million pounds though!
Playing the lottery online makes sense, as it's fast and it's easy. The site is also extremely easy to use and very safe. If I did have one issue, however, it would be the unreliable slowdown during draw days, forcing you to consider strolling out to the shops to buy a ticket. This isn't always an issue, but it has made me miss a draw occasionally. Play the lottery? Play online. Simple.
Tick Box:
Safe: Yes
Demos: Yes
24/7 Support: Yes
Live Chat: No
Download Required: No
Promotions: No
Mobile Lottery: No
Disclaimer: All deals and promotions listed were correct at the time of this review, and are subject to change. For current promotions, please visit the website as listed above. Please feel free to use the comments section to post details of current promotions including, where applicable, valid dates.