National lottery - yay or nay?

MalMonroe

Hello peeps, I reactivated my online National Lottery account about four weeks ago.

What do people think about the lottery, is it worth my money? During the past four weeks I've won £2.60 - although I'm not a big spender. Around £10 every two weeks is my limit!  There are just too many games to enter - how to choose the best ones? Is it even possible to choose the best ones? 

Does anyone here know of anyone who's won big on the lottery? I don't. Over the years since the lottery began, there have been three big money winners from my town. I know none of them. If I did happen to win big I wouldn't want to publicise it but would definitely want to help others.

But generally, is the lottery (or lotto I guess it's called now) a good idea? Or should I just save my money in my new savings account instead? I'm starting to think I'll close my account as it seems like a waste of money really and I'm not brave enough to speculate big.

Many thanks.

lizd31

Messaged BG to move to chat thread @MalMonroe

Bridger12

Guy I used to work with won a large amount many years ago on a national lottery scratchcard, in thousands but cannot remember exact amount. Do not have much myself with national lottery

sleepyjones

Someone's got to win it ... like everything, if you're gonna do it, do it in moderation and don't play it if you can't afford to play it.

I don't know anyone that's won anything over £50, as far as I know, I'm not even sure I know anyone that still plays it, it doesn't really come up in conversation much so I don't think about it.  When they started increasing the price and adding new numbers, new draws, new games I think a lot of people just stopped playing.  

Occasionally, if I'm feeling flush I'll chuck £20 in my online account and get a few Lotto and Euromillions tickets but we're probably talking once or twice a year.  I've never played a scratchcard ... correction, I've never bought a scratch card (but I have scratched, at least 1 in my lifetime)

Abbafan1972

I have an online account and I only do it once in a blue moon and spend about £10.

Yes, I agree that there are just too many games now and I think a lot of people have just given up on it.

Years ago when the Lottery first started and it was only just one draw on a Saturday night, we did a bonus ball sweep at work and that was great fun. 

I used to play the Health Lottery, but haven't done for a while - does anyone play that?  I used to play that one more as the lines were cheaper (but obviously the prize fun is much smaller). 

ness13

I won £3918 on the Lotto in 1997 which was certainly very useful when I was a student! I still play occasionally with little success.

tacpot12

I occasionally play on the Euromillions lottery, say once every couple of months. I won £6.50 last week, and had a similar win about six months ago. 

I play when the jackpot is at its lowest, as this is when the fewest people play, so I figure my chances of winning something are higher - and I win the Jackpot, I don't really need to worry about whether it is  £10M or £30M, it would be a lifechanging amount of money! 

If I win the Jackpot, my plan is to make a substantial donation to a Charity of everything in excess of the figure I think I can spend in my lifetime. I'm pretty creative, so I think I might have to keep about  £5M!

messia07

no i don't know anyone who has won anything on the lottery. the most i've ever won is £104 but that was like 6 years ago lol. 

i play the lottery but not religiously. is it a waste of money?.. if you don't win, then yes lol

i guess buying a ticket gives you a chance.. however small, to change you and your families lives for the better. 

you often read comments from people complaining that no one ever "wins" the lottery, but that's not true, if you look at the lotto/euromillions  results and prize breakdowns, people are often winning life changing amounts of money. for example, 7 people missed the most recent lotto jackpot by one number but due to the lotto "roll down" they won £1m each.. but i doubt your read anything about them in the news.

One-Eye

tacpot12 said:

I play when the jackpot is at its lowest, as this is when the fewest people play, so I figure my chances of winning something are higher

Absolute fallacy.

If it was a prize draw you would be correct, but it is a lottery based on numbers. A set of numbers has exactly the same chance of being drawn whether one person plays, or 1 billion people play.

The only difference is that if less people play, there is a smaller chance that the winning numbers may have been picked by several people and the jackpot might not be shared.

chrobakx

I'm playing occasionally just for fun, knowing I may never win. 

sleepyjones

One-Eye said:

tacpot12 said:

I play when the jackpot is at its lowest, as this is when the fewest people play, so I figure my chances of winning something are higher

Absolute fallacy.

If it was a prize draw you would be correct, but it is a lottery based on numbers. A set of numbers has exactly the same chance of being drawn whether one person plays, or 1 billion people play.

The only difference is that if less people play, there is a smaller chance that the winning numbers may have been picked by several people and the jackpot might not be shared.

I think what they meant was there's less players so you'll get more of a share as opposed to there be less players so more chance of winning.