Which Lottery has the Best Odds of Winning?

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery, retiring and escaping their jobs and financial pressures. For the vast majority of people, it remains forever just that – a dream. The lottery will always be popular because of the enormous, life-changing sums of money that can be won. It is simple to play, requires little strategy and 1 ticket is all it takes to win.

Lotteries have been around for a while and thanks to the growth of online gambling alongside the lottery betting that's offered by many of the major bookmakers, players are no longer restricted by geography and can choose from a range of lottery games in different countries across the world.

When choosing a lottery, one of the first things you'll want to know is: what are the odds of winning? Gambling.com looks at some of the most popular lottery games in the UK and around the world and examines the chance you have of winning top prizes.

1. The National Lottery

   The UK National Lottery actually consists of various games, but Lotto is the main one (and the one that offers the biggest prizes). Camelot, the company that operates the National Lottery, made major changes to the Lotto game in 2015 which have affected the odds of winning. With ten new numbers added to the draw, the chances of winning one of the big prizes is now a lot lower.

   The odds of matching all six numbers increased from 14 million to one to around 45 million to one, while the odds of matching five numbers have gone up from around 55,000 to one to roughly 144,400 to one. Camelot’s justification for this is that they have added new prizes, including a guaranteed millionaire. This now means that although the odds of winning one of the big prizes have reduced, the odds of winning any prize are now around 9.3/1 compared to 54/1 under the previous system.

2. EuroMillions

   EuroMillions is also operated by Camelot but because it takes place across Europe and offers larger jackpots than the UK draw, the odds of winning the top prize are far longer at around 116.5 million to one, making it one of the hardest lottery games to win.

   However, the odds of taking home the second biggest prize are actually better than the respective prize in the UK game and players have around a one in 13 chance of winning any prize. Players looking to test those odds can visit a topnotch lottery concierge and start playing your favourite numbers from most places in the world!

3. Irish Lotto

   The Irish Lotto offers one of the best ratios of jackpot size to odds of winning. There is a minimum jackpot of €2 million (around £1.4 million normally) and the odds of winning it stand at around 10.7 million to one, far lower than most of the other big lottery games.

   The odds of winning any prize are not that great at 72/1, but if it's purely jackpots that you're after, Ireland’s lottery game is a better bet than most. To join in the game yourself, follow our secure link and enjoy all the Irish Lotto has to offer!

4. French Loto

   The French Lotto offers the best odds of winning any prize at 6/1, so for regular players these odds are attractive. The prizes below the top two tiers are relatively small sums so it is best not to get too excited by the generous odds.

   There is a minimum jackpot of €2 million, which rolls over by another million every time it's not won – the odds of winning this are around 19 million to one, though. Players looking to test those 6/1 odds can play the French loto today!

5. Mini Lotto

   This little-known Polish game offers some of the best jackpot odds around. Mini Lotto is the smaller version of Poland’s main lotto draw and, as the name suggests, the jackpots are not huge (normally around the £50,000 mark). The flipside of this is that the odds of winning are far greater than any other lottery game, at around 850,600 to one.

   It only costs 25p for a ticket, so it's also the cheapest lottery. With draws taking place six days a week, you also get more chances to win. To be part of the next draw and try your luck at a life changing jackpot, head over to TheLotter's lottery website today and start picking your winning numbers!

Do Larger Lottery Jackpots Typically Mean Longer Odds?

Generally speaking, the lotteries with the largest jackpots have the longest odds of winning, which is logical since more people play them. So, for players looking for the best odds of winning, it's advisable to stay away from the most popular games like EuroMillions, the National Lottery and the US Powerball and instead look for alternatives that offer smaller jackpots but better statistical chances of winning.