Lottery Bonus Ball – What Does It Do And How Does It Work?
The National Lottery Results and Statistics
Since its inception in 1994, the National Lottery has been carefully checking each draw and every ticket to ensure the correct results. You’ll find that many lottery variations such as the UK Post Code Lottery, use numbers and the bonus ball as an exciting combination. On the whole, in the UK, it’s the bonus lottery ball that is in use to raise funds for different charities.
How Does The National Lottery Bonus Ball Work
For every draw of the National Lottery, there’s a huge multi-million £ prize waiting. All you have to do is match all 6 main numbers. Having said that, there are many UK players that don’t understand the role that the bonus ball plays. Essentially, this extra ball allows you to increase your jackpot winning chances if you happen to miss out on any jackpot by but a single number. We’ve laid out the steps below to clarify how the extra ball will functions
1: Pick the numbers on your ticket.
2: Decide the 6 numbers.
3: Watch the draw and see how many you manage to match.
4: If you have 5 of the 6 main numbers, wait for the bonus ball.
5: If the bonus ball is drawn as the sixth number, you’ll get the ‘Match 5 + Bonus’ prize.
This means irrespective of the numbers you have chosen, providing you have five of the main numbers, then the bonus ball will come into play. In the UK, with the National Lottery, there’s no such thing as Match 4 + Bonus or Match 3 + Bonus and so on. The only Match available is a Match 5 + Bonus. Of course, it goes without saying that your ideal result would be to match all 6 main numbers to get the massive jackpot. But if you win the jackpot online, you’ll instantly shoot up the list to be one of the biggest lottery winners in the UK.
The Bonus Ball Odds and Prizes
Let’s have a deeper dive into the odds and the prizes that are available from the National Lottery. The first thing we should look at is matching the 5 main numbers. Then the 5 main numbers, plus the bonus ball. For the former, the odds are 1 in 144,415. And for the latter, they are much larger, being 1 in 7,509,579. If you’re a UK player who manages to match 5 of the balls out of the 6 main numbers, then the lottery bonus ball will give you a chance to win a better prize. To give you a better idea, we’ve made a table below that shows the type of prizes given depending on the number of balls drawn.
Match Category Prize Main Numbers Match Total Number Match
6 Match Numbers Jackpot 6 6
5 Match + Bonus Ball £1 Million 5 6
5 Match Numbers £1,750 5 5
4 Match Numbers £140 4 4
3 Match Numbers £30 3 3
2 Match Numbers Free Lucky Dip 2 2
Looking at the table above you can see that both the two top prizes, though not as big as those in El Gordo or the Eurojackpot, are only available to those who manage to match 6 numbers on their ticket. After these, the lottery bonus ball comes into play. But it’s not available for any of the other tiers. Looking at these statistics will give you an idea of what your chances of winning might be. We suggest that before you play any lottery you look through similar statistics to see which ones give you the most favourable odds.
Lottery Bonus Ball Buying Tickets
All UK players will need to purchase a lottery ticket before they can participate in the National Lottery. You get to choose your 6 numbers with this entry paper. The bonus ball is not included in these numbers. It’s only drawn if one of your choices fails to match the 6 winning numbers. Being the best lottery to play, it doesn’t matter where you buy your tickets. Whether in-store or online or using the actual National Lottery app itself. Here at Jackpotfinder.com, we suggest that you head over to theLotter for all your lottery ticket needs.
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Tickets and Results
When you’re playing the National Lottery in the UK, you don’t need to select the seventh number on your ticket. This will be the result of a draw from the 53 remaining numbers in the machine after the 6th main numbers have come out. Keep in mind, the same number cannot appear twice in a single drawing. This is to ensure that the lottery remains equal and fair.
Key Facts About The Lotto Bonus Ball
It’s important to understand how the use of the bonus ball affects the lottery on the whole. Have a look at the table below to see the key facts with regards to the lottery bonus ball.
- You have to match 5 of the main numbers, for the extra ball will be relevant.
- Matching 5 plus the bonus ball lottery automatically wins you £1 million.
- You don’t get a bonus ball on your ticket because you don’t pick it to play.
- It comes from the 53 numbers remaining after the 6 main numbers
If there happens to be more than one winner in the lottery draw, then the large prize is split among those lucky players. Conversely, when no one manages to win because none of the numbers is guessed, then the jackpot is simply rolled over to the next draw, normally in the following week.
The Bonus Ball Gives To Charities
According to the latest lottery news, a huge proportion of the National Lottery money goes towards an equally huge number of initiatives all over the UK. But as a standalone, the lottery bonus ball is used by many organisations as a fundraising means for various charities. Some lottery clubs around the country use the money bet on the lottery in order to help people in need. Or to donate to social causes or even help to protect animals. The main idea remains the same though. And that there is a pot that collects money from members. And it’s into this the bonus ball will be titled. With this method, additional funding that’s raised from the National Lottery bonus ball prizes will go towards equally good causes.
If you enjoy playing the National Lottery, then why not try your hand at other even more generous lotteries from around the world. Whether the PowerBall in the US or El Gordo in Spain, you can purchase tickets from theLotter to these and hundreds of other lotteries.
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