{"id":6037,"date":"2017-12-11T10:46:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T10:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/?p=6037"},"modified":"2019-10-22T11:09:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T11:09:32","slug":"national-lottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/national-lottery\/","title":{"rendered":"National Lottery UK: Is It Really Worth Taking Part?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>
\nWith millions of pounds up for grabs each week, it\u2019s no wonder that almost 45 million Brits take part in the National Lottery on a regular basis. According to the Daily Star, the average person in the UK will spend a staggering \u00a3416 each year on lottery tickets and scratch cards \u2013 but how likely are they to win? Mr Lender<\/a><\/strong> scoured the web and found out what your chances are of winning the lottery and how you can improve your chances of taking home a prize.<\/p>\n

\"National<\/p>\n

National Lottery<\/h2>\n

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of how to win, let\u2019s start with some basic history of the National Lottery. On 19th<\/sup> November 1994 the first lotto draw was aired on TV and hosted by Noel Edmunds. In the first ever draw there was a jackpot of \u00a35.8million won which was shared by seven winners, each taking home \u00a3839,254. The Queen also took part in the first ever National Lottery where she won \u00a310. Three years later on 5th<\/sup> February 1997, the first ever Wednesday draw took place.<\/p>\n

Who takes part?<\/h2>\n

According to one article by Lottoland<\/a><\/strong> in 2016, the average National Lottery player is aged 35 and over and most likely working class, and has an even chance of being male or female. In the UK, there is an even number of men and women who take part in the Lottery. They also say that one sixth of participants are aged 18-25, while one third are aged 25-34. A whopping half of all participants are supposedly aged 35 and older. Lottoland also state the benefit claimants are 4% more likely to take part in the Lottery than those who don\u2019t claim.<\/p>\n

\"National<\/p>\n

Winning National Lottery statistics<\/h2>\n

So now down to the important business \u2013 how to win. While we hate to disappoint, the chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim, in fact they\u2019re just one in 45,057,474<\/a><\/strong>. The chances of matching two main numbers are a little better at one in 10.3, meaning you get to take home a free Lucky Dip ticket for a future game if you win. While we can\u2019t provide a guaranteed way to win the lottery, we do have a few tips to improve your chances of winning and of taking home the most money possible:<\/p>\n

Go against the grain<\/h3>\n

The first and simplest tip to avoid having to share your lottery winnings is to choose numbers which aren\u2019t too popular. Reportedly, there are 10,000 people in the UK who use the numbers \u20181, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6\u2019 each week. If these numbers were to be drawn and the jackpot was, say \u00a35million, each winner will get just \u00a3500 each. Most people also choose their numbers based on anniversaries and birthdays, meaning the most popular numbers are between 1-31. To maximise your chances of not having to share your winnings, choose numbers between 32 and 59, however the odds of these numbers being picked are not great, as you will see in our next point.<\/p>\n

Follow the stats<\/h3>\n

Although this may not improve your chances of winning by very much, you want to choose your numbers based on which ones pop up the most. According to Lottery.co.uk<\/a><\/strong>, the most commonly picked numbers as of 6th<\/sup> December 2017 are as follows:<\/p>\n