National Lottery shake-up will 'make more UK millionaires'

National Lottery owner Camelot has promised to make some changes to its Lotto and EuroMillions offerings over the next few months, including increasing Lotto winnings as much as 20 times.

From November, the Lotto main game will offer bigger, fixed cash prizes and from early 2019 there will be more frequent EuroMillions draws but with only one rather than two guaranteed British millionaires per draw.

In the Lotto game, players who pick five numbers correctly plus the bonus ball will win a fixed payout of £1m, up from £50,000. Five main draw balls will see winnings of £1,750, compared with £1,000. The lowest win, for guessing three numbers, will increase from £25 to £30.

Camelot said winnings could also be boosted by its plans to cap jackpot rollovers from ten weeks to five weeks and that after that period, a "rolldown mechanic" would see jackpots shared across all prize tiers.

Elsewhere, the group said it will launch a brand new annuity game, where winners will receive regular payments over a number of years instead of a lump sum, in the spring of 2019, which is expected to have a top prize of thousands of pounds every month for at least 25 years.

Following a strategic review due to falling sales, Camelot identified the need to improve the range of its National Lottery games as being one of four key areas where actions were needed to enable The National Lottery to get back into long-term, sustainable growth.

Chief executive Nigel Railton, who joined last November, said: "It was clear from the review that we needed to create a more appealing and balanced range of games that offers something for everyone."

He said the updates, as well as ongoing work to make The National Lottery brand "more relevant and visible" – will help ensure that lottery as a whole "continues to deliver for both players and good causes alike".