National Lottery operator Camelot has revealed details regarding a series of special draws for September which will see hundreds of millions of pounds be up for grabs, as well as an upcoming change to its Lotto offer.
The special draws have been introduced to provide a much-needed boost to retailers in the continued challenging high street environment, while the upcoming change to Lotto will see around a million people win £5 prizes in certain ‘Must Be Won’ draws.
Set to begin as of 7 November, players who match two main numbers in a Lotto ‘Must Be Won’ draw where no one matches all six main numbers to win the jackpot outright will also scoop a share of the jackpot. This will see them win £5 in addition to their free Lucky Dip while each of the other prize tiers can still expect to receive a share of the jackpot, resulting in boosted prizes.
Camelot’s Commercial Director, Neil Brocklehurst, explained: “We’ve got three fantastic draws lined up in September to get National Lottery players excited, as well as to provide a commission and footfall boost for our 44,000 retail partners. Kicking off the month with a Lotto £20m ‘Must Be Won’ draw, retailers could boost their sales by over 30%.
“This will then be closely followed by two incredible EuroMillions draws – one which will make 20 guaranteed millionaires and one with a boosted jackpot of over £100m – which could lead to a massive 80% retail sales increase, when compared to a normal EuroMillions draw.
“In terms of Lotto, the changes we made a couple of years ago are continuing to prove really popular – particularly the ‘Must Be Won’ draws where, when the jackpot isn’t won outright, it rolls down to all of the other cash prize winners. But we’re always looking at ways to make our games even better, and one thing that Match 2 winners were regularly telling us was that they wanted a share of the jackpot too.
“So, from later this year, when we have a Lotto jackpot ‘Rolldown’, everyone could scoop a share. As well as their free Lucky Dip, Match 2 winners will win £5 – and we expect that all other prize tiers will continue to receive a share of the jackpot. We know an unexpected extra fiver – which could be spent on a box of chocolates, a book or magazine, or to treat a friend to a coffee – can really put a smile on someone’s face.
“For our retail partners, on top of the usual commission they make on the free Lucky Dip and paying out some of the other boosted prizes, this will mean a significant number of players reinvesting their £5 win back in store.”
The initiative marks the first time a cash prize has been available for matching two main numbers on Lotto, thus meaning that retailers can expect even more positivity and footfall around Lotto ‘Must Be Won’ draws in the future.
Brocklehurst added: “Thanks to National Lottery players, an average of £30m is raised every week for good causes across the UK. Given what the country is going through, this is even more important right now, with up to £600m in National Lottery funding being used by charities and organisations to help those affected by coronavirus – including £300m to support the most vulnerable in communities across the UK.”