14 Feb Alternatives to the UK Lotto which is increasingly unpopular in the UK
Have you been playing the UK National Lottery? It has a jackpot figure that many people would kill to get. At the time of writing this post, the jackpot is at £110M. However, the odds of winning that jackpot are arguably the worst of any lottery in the EU.
According to the national lottery website, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160. Those odds are as slim as the odds of getting killed by a falling coconut.
So, are there any better alternatives to the UK National Lottery? Read on to find out.
Bet on the outcome of other lotteries
All lotteries have the system – you buy a ticket, then choose a combination of numbers and hope yours is the winning combination.
But did you know there’s a different way to play the lottery?
Lottoland allows you to bet on the outcome of other draws. You win by predicting the winning numbers of a specific draw. The site offers the same amount provided by the lottery. For instance, if you correctly predict the outcome of the UK National Lottery jackpot, you walk away with the amount you would have if you purchased the winning ticket.
On lotto sites not on Gamstop for Brits, you can place bets on more than 30 international lotteries. So, it makes the US Powerball, which often has jackpots north of $1 billion, available to UK citizens.
Other sites similar to Lottoland include MultiLotto, Lottokings, and theLotter.
The Irish Lottery
There’s a better chance of winning the Irish Lotto jackpot that the UK National Lottery jackpot. The odds of winning the Irish Lotto jackpot are 1 in 10,737,573, according to the lottery’s official website.
One ticket for the Irish Lotto jackpot costs £2, which is 50p cheaper than the UK lotto ticket. For an extra pound, you get a chance to win in two more draws. The main jackpot draw has a prize of £1.4M. On the Plus 1 draw, you can win up to £900k while on the Plus 2 draw you get a chance to win up to £225k.
Like the UK lotto, the Irish Lotto has two draws, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Gamble with Premium Bonds
Premium bonds, offered by the National Savings & Investments, are both an investment and a gamble. They are an investment in the sense that you do not lose your money. You will always get your money back. However, your initial investment might be reduced due to inflation.
This investment gets you an entry into the monthly draw that gives you a chance to win £1 million. Since 1994, when the jackpot was introduced, the NS&I has made 269 millionaires.
One bond gives you a 1 in 24,000 chance of winning. Those odds are way better than the odds of the national lottery jackpot.
The more bonds you have, the better your chances of winning. With average luck, if you invest £30,000 (the maximum allowed), you can win prizes 15 times a year. Check out this link for more information on premium bonds.
The Postcode Lottery
The Postcode lottery is the UK’s largest free lottery. All you need to participate is a postcode.
Your postcode enters you into several daily draws. The main draw starts at £200 to £300. You have to check the site daily to see if you have won the main draw or any of the small prizes.
If the prize of the main draw is not claimed, it rolls over to the next day. The prize has accumulated to as high as £1,250 in the past. However, the chances of winning are 1 in 470,000. But, you’ve nothing to lose since it’s free.
Consider saving the money
How much do you spend on national lottery tickets? 10, 20, maybe even 100 pounds each week.
Let’s put saving versus lottery tickets into perspective. Assuming you’re a responsible gambler who spends £6 weekly. Over 30 years, that amount translates to about £10k. If you saved that in a bank, even with the worst interest rate, you’d withdraw an amount north of £12,000. That is better than spending hundreds of pounds on lottery tickets annually and ultimately end up with nothing tangible to show.
Conclusion
The UK lottery jackpot is slowly losing popularity. The odds are enormously against the better. There are other lotteries with better odds and more features, such as the Irish Lottery. Lotteries are attractive – they promise big money. But you are more likely never to win. So, consider alternatives such as bonds, free lotteries, and savings.
