UK National Lottery reaches new record of winning tickets in 2016

Camelot, operator of the UK National Lottery, recently announced that it has given away a record number of jackpot tickets this year, totalling £862mn in winnings. In 2016, 347 players received cheques for £1 million or more, compared to 341 in 2015.

In October 2015, the lottery increased of the number of balls from 49 to 59, and thus the chance of winning the jackpot decreased from 1 in 14 million to 1 in 45 million. This year’s increase in winning tickets is therefore a surprising outcome for the lottery operator.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser, comments: “It has been a record-breaking 12 months with more millionaires celebrating with a giant cheque than ever before. The National Lottery changes lives, not just of the winners but also for the projects that receive support.”

Camelot announced earlier this month that its online platform has been under threat, as 26,500 customer accounts have been hacked. The operator issued a warning to customers that the attackers may have reached the personal information saved on their accounts, and recommended that all customers change their account password immediately. The investigation, which began on 1 December, is still ongoing.