National Lottery Creates Record Number of Millionaires Under New Lotto Format

A British lottery player has claimed a £9.2 million jackpot—the largest prize since the National Lottery introduced its new format—while four additional winners each secured £1 million prizes in recent draws. The winning numbers for the June 27 draw were 12, 18, 40, 43, 44, and 45, with Bonus Ball 29. All five major winners claimed their prizes through the revised Lotto system, which fundamentally changes how players engage with the game.

New Format Doubles Winning Opportunities

The National Lottery restructured its format to provide players with two separate chances to win from each £2 ticket purchased. Previously, a single draw offered one opportunity; now, Wednesday and Saturday draws each contain two distinct number selections drawn from the same ball pool. This change has already proven significant: the £9.2 million jackpot winner and three of the £1 million prize winners all matched numbers in the second round—a win type that would not have existed under the previous system.

A retired NHS worker from Brighton, playing in his 60s, exemplified the format's impact when he won £1 million by matching five main numbers and the bonus ball. He purchased two Lucky Dips while shopping, a departure from his usual strategy of selecting personal numbers. Upon scanning his ticket via the National Lottery app on a Sunday morning, he discovered the win had occurred in the second game of the new draw. His family plans to purchase a house with a garden, having previously downsized to a flat.

Expanding Millionaire Creation Across the Nation

The National Lottery projects that the format overhaul will increase annual millionaire winners from approximately 140 to around 345—a substantial rise reflecting expanded winning pathways. Andy Carter, senior winners' advisor at Allwyn (the National Lottery operator), stated that the revised system exemplifies why the Lotto remains known as the nation's millionaire maker. Since its 1994 launch, the lottery has created more than 8,000 millionaires and raised over £53 billion for charitable causes across the United Kingdom.

Each week, approximately £33 million generated from lottery ticket sales supports National Lottery-funded projects. These initiatives range from Fight for Peace to This Girl Can and Magi Ann, spanning more than 680,000 projects across health, arts, sport, and community sectors. The expanded winning opportunities are expected to accelerate this charitable funding while delivering more frequent prizes to participants nationwide.