Which Lottery To Play Uk
Have you ever looked at the massive jackpots in the lotto games of other countries and wished you could play?
I have. After all, while the top jackpot the EuroMillions has paid (€190 million) would be tasty, it isn’t quite the $1.6 billion record jackpot which the MegaMillions lotto awarded in 2018.
While the UK lottery is generally a favourite for the many Indians that used to play lottery online whilst living in the UK, the prize values are far from being as stunning as the American lotteries: the US Powerball and the US MegaMillions. This year both these lotteries had a grand prize tallying literally over hundreds of millions of US dollars! National Lottery Projects Since The National Lottery began in 1994 over 625,000 good causes have been supported with over £42 billion raised by players of The National Lottery (figures sourced from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. – November 2020). Around £30 million raised weekly is an average based on April 2019 – March 2020.
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could play in these overseas lotteries while sitting in the UK?
Well, now you can. Thanks to innovative new lotto sites, it’s possible to bet on the outcome of lotteries from around the world. All you need is an internet connection and a way to pay online.
How is this possible? How can UK players participate in US lotteries? Is it possible to play in the lottery in Australia and elsewhere? I’ll answer these questions and others in this guide to playing in lotto games online.
How Can You Play in Overseas Lotteries?
To play in the lottery in most countries, you have to be a legal resident of the country you’re playing in.
So, how is it legally possible for UK players to win the Mega Millions, Powerball, and other overseas lottos?
It’s because of the existence of online lotto sites which mimic the results. You don’t buy a ticket for the draw. Instead, you pick your numbers at an online lotto site, and if you win, they pay you the jackpot.
Essentially, you’re playing in overseas lotteries by proxy. The lotto website is the middleman. It makes money on the sale of “tickets”, and it foots the bill if someone wins.
If you’re like me, you might begin to wonder how independent lotto sites could possibly afford to pay jackpots worth millions of dollars or even $1.6 billion.
Well, they don’t pay it all at once. You’ll get a lump sum that will set you up for life, and the operators pay the rest as the months and years roll by.
That’s not as nice as receiving a single check for hundreds of millions, but the other option is not to be able to play these lotteries at all. Also, you’re much less likely to go broke when the lotto sites pays you in instalments, so there’s an advantage to it.
The Pros and Cons of Playing Overseas Lottery Games
When I first heard of this concept, I went into geek mode and started learning all I could about playing in online lotteries. I sort of felt like it had to be a scam, and while I was wrong about that, I did unearth some pros and cons to playing in national lottos online.
Advantages of Overseas Lottery Games
- You’ll be able to play in lotteries you never could play in before.
- Some of the jackpots in overseas lotteries dwarf those offered at home.
- You can shop around and decide which online lotto site you want to play at.
- It’s 100% legit and legal since you aren’t really buying a ticket to the lottery draw.
- These lotto sites often offer welcome bonuses and loyalty clubs, which regular lottos don’t.
Disadvantages of Overseas Lottery Games
- As previously stated, if you win a massive jackpot, you won’t get it all at once. You’ll get the rest in instalments.
- There are some scam operators out there who will cut and run if someone has a big win.
- Betting on overseas lottos can make your home-grown games seem underwhelming by comparison.
- You won’t be contributing to the many good causes which lottery funds are used for in the UK.
- It’s not entirely clear what would happen to your instalments if the lotto site became insolvent.
So, like any other form of gambling, there are risks and rewards to betting on lottery results in other countries. For the most part, you can eliminate some of the worst risks if you take the time to select a legit lotto site backed by a big enough company to take the financial hit should you or someone else win.
With these main advantages and disadvantages in mind, let’s take a look at some of the worldwide lotteries you can participate in when you use these sites.
Please Note:Each lotto site is different. In the next section, I created a table with a list of draws I discovered when browsing multiple different online casino sites. You won’t necessarily be able to play in all of them at the lotto site you choose. Shop around to find a site which offers the exact lotto game you want to play.
The Best Lottery Games From Around the World
Having access to many different national lotto games is exciting. When I first found out about these sites, I wanted to know three things.
- Which lottery draws I could play in and where they were based
- The odds of winning the jackpot for each game
- The biggest jackpot that game has ever paid
So, I did some research, gathered all of that information together, and placed it in the table below:
Lotto Draw | Country | Odds | Record Jackpot |
---|---|---|---|
Powerball | USA | 1 in 292,201,338 | $1.56 billion |
Mega Millions | USA | 1 in 302,575,350 | $1.6 billion |
EuroMillions | Europe | 1 in 139,838,160 | €190 million |
Eurojackpot | Finland | 1 in 95,344,200 | €90 million |
Oz Lotto | Australia | 1 in 45,379,620 | $111,972,151 |
Lotto Max | Canada | 1 in 33,294,800 | $55 million |
SuperEnalotto | Italy | 1 in 622,614,630 | €177.7 million |
Lotto 6/49 | Canada | 1 in 13,983,816 | $64 million |
There are lots of other smaller lottery games from around the world available at different online lotto sites. I saw the South African Lottery, the Irish lottery, and lots of others offered.
Some sites even have their own lotteries which have very respectable jackpots up for grabs. These are worth checking out if you want to play in something different.
Note that the odds above are for winning the jackpots. To do so, you’ll have to match the most numbers possible. For example, in EuroMillions, you have to match five numbers and two “lucky stars” to win the top prize.
However, all of the games offer smaller prizes for matching as few as two numbers.
It’s great to have access to all of these lotteries and many others. While the odds of winning some of these jackpots are astronomical, I’m willing to take a shot for a jackpot worth hundreds of millions or even a billion.
What to Look for in an Online Lotto Site
I mentioned above that one of the downsides of these online lotto sites is that there are some scam operators in the space. There are also vast differences in quality between some of them. So, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a checklist to help you avoid the scams and pick the best lotto sites.
- Pick a Site Run by a Legit Operator
- Make Sure It Is Large Enough to Pay Wins
- Check out the Ticket Prices and Fees
- Understand Which Lotto Games the Site Offers
- Check the Payout Policy, Then Double Check It
Lotto sites are a different ballgame than casino and betting sites. The big brands like Bet365 and Betway don’t offer access to these lotteries, so you can’t fall back on reputation alone. Do your research into the operator, its history, any other sites it owns, and the directors behind it. If you play at UK lotto sites, you’ll be able to find all of this information on Google.
In order to avoid heartbreak, you’ll have to play at a legit and established lottery site with a track record of paying out wins. New lotto sites are tempting because of the bonuses they often offer, but if you strike it lucky and win a jackpot worth £100 million or more, will they be able to pay up? For this reason, I would stick with some of the biggest lotto sites.
It’s always a good idea to read the terms and conditions when you play at an online lottery website. You’ll often find hidden fees for withdrawals, which can make a substantial difference to your payouts. You’ll also find that there’s a slight difference between the real ticket price and the price the site charges. Make sure you shop around for the best deals.
This is another good reason to play at bigger, more established lottery sites. They will usually offer a wider variety of games from around the world. Smaller sites have to grow their capital before they can risk offering every lotto game. Have a look around and make sure the games you want to play are available.
Before you enter any lottery draw, make sure you understand what will happen if you win. Some sites will pay you a lump sum up to a certain amount, but after that, they will pay you in weekly or monthly installments. For the biggest jackpots, it can take 10 years or more to get your money in full. It’s always best to understand this before you choose an online lottery site.
Tips for Winning Online Lotto Games
Sadly, there are no surefire ways to win the lottery. Let’s be honest, if there were, do you think anyone would spill the secret? That’s why I recommend avoiding all lotto betting systems which you have to pay to access. Instead, I recommend the following logical lotto tactics to help you win more often.
- Don’t Ignore the Odds – As you can see from the table above, there are vast differences in the odds of winning the jackpot between these games. Don’t be blinded by the biggest jackpots. It makes more sense to play games with better odds. Not that any lotto game has any particularly favourable odds, but you get the idea.
- Maximize Lotto Bonuses – The great thing about online lotto sites is that there are so many of them. That creates competition and the need to entice and keep players with bonuses. Find the best deal, even if it’s only one free lotto ticket extra. That one ticket could be the key to landing millions.
- Form a Syndicate – There’s strength in numbers, and the more lotto lines you play, the greater your chances of winning. It can get expensive to buy hundreds of lines for the big draws, but if you form a syndicate with a few people you know and trust with the agreement to split the jackpot, you maximize your chances without breaking the bank. Would you really care if you had to split a £100 million jackpot with a few friends? Probably not. You’d be too busy counting your money.
- Play High Numbers – Did you know that many lotto players use birthdays of loved ones as numbers? That means lots of players are picking numbers between 1 and 31. It’s a crowded field down there, and so the chances of having to split the jackpot with other winners increases. Picking high numbers can help you avoid this, although doing so doesn’t necessarily increase your chances of winning online lottos.
- Ignore the Nonsense – There are so many lotto myths and nonsensical betting systems and tricks that I’ve lost track. You can’t manipulate or cheat lottery games. Please save yourself the time and money you’ll waste on these. Spend it on more lotto tickets or keep it in your pocket instead.
Conclusion
Online lottery sites offer a world of opportunity, which isn’t usually available to UK players. They give you a chance to win some of the biggest jackpots in the world.
However, you should approach them with caution and an awareness of the many scams operating in the space. Be sure to do your due diligence and pick a trustworthy lotto site. A whole new world of excitement awaits.
With that in mind, good luck, and I hope you win the jackpot!
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As the saying goes, you have to play it to win it. The problem is choosing which lottery to play! There are hundreds of lotteries in the UK – the Gambling Commission records 520 licensed lotteries in total – and many other international lottos too.
The question is what do you want from your lottery? Do you want to play the for the Euro Millions jackpot and aim for the big money, but going against a lot of other players? Do you want a smaller scale lottery, where the competition is less, but the winnings are reasonable? Maybe you want a lottery that gives to charity?
Whether it's Euro Millions or Postcode Pounds, our guide will point you in the right direction.
The Best The UK Lottery Has To Offer
Below, we've got the best there is to offer for UK lottery fanatics. From the big players like Euro Millions lottery, all the way to the smaller jackpots that you may have never heard of; we have everything the UK lottery scene has to offer.
People’s Postcode Lottery
You’d recognise this one from their heartwarming TV advertisements. There’s no lucky numbers involved here, as your entry ticket consists of your postcode and a unique three-digit number. It is subscription-based, which means you can register your postcode once and be automatically entered into five draws a month!
British Lotto
The monthly £2,000,000 jackpot is also shared between all players in one postcode area, with a maximum payout of £400,000 per person. This means that you’ll share this jackpot prize with your neighbours (those who’ve bought tickets). Your chances are the same whether or not there are many houses on your street. Buying more tickets just increases the amount of money you can win. You can’t increase your chances of winning by buying more lines, as you would with the Lotto.