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What is Lottery Betting

Updated at: December 21st, 2023
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Lottery betting is incredibly popular in the UK, allowing players to enter draws with some of the biggest jackpots in the world – but what is lottery betting and how does it work?

It is similar to playing the National Lottery or EuroMillions, but instead of purchasing tickets to the draw you bet on the outcome of the draw, specifically the balls (numbers) that will be drawn.

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Why would you do this and not just purchase tickets to the official draw?

Because in most cases you can only purchase tickets to a lottery from the country or countries where the draw takes place.

If you want to play US Powerball, for example, you have to purchase a ticket from one of the states where the draw is available. For UK players, that would mean boarding a flight to the USA.

Betting on lottery operators such as Lottoland allow players to bet on the outcome of major lottery jackpot draws from Europe and beyond, from Spain’s El Gordo to French Lotto and Eurojackpot.

Even though you do not enter the draw directly, if you correctly guess and bet on the numbers drawn you can win the same jackpot prize being offered by the official draw.

For fans of lottery, particularly if you like to seek out life-changing jackpots, betting on lottery allows you to enter more draws than you would ordinarily.

Below, we take a closer look at betting on lottery, how it works, how it differs to traditional lottery and how you can take part.

Betting on Lottery Explained

Lottery betting is exactly what is says it is – betting on the outcome of a lottery draw and in particular the numbers (balls) that will be drawn.

You pick the numbers that you think will be drawn – just as you would for a traditional lottery – and if you guess correctly you will win a prize.

The size of the prize you win depends on the number of balls (numbers) you guess correctly. Again, this is exactly the same as if you entered an official draw.

Of course, there are some differences compared to playing traditional lottery, which we explore in more detail below.

Lottery Betting vs Playing Traditional Lottery

The main difference between betting on lottery and traditional lottery is that you are not purchasing a ticket to the draw.

Similar to sports betting, you are placing a bet with the betting on lottery operator – for example, Lottoland. The betting on lottery company is not connected to the official lottery in anyway.

The cost of the ticket is paid to the betting on lottery operator and they will be the one to pay your prize in the event you win. Most prizes match those of the official draw.

For example, if you play at Lottoland and enter the Lotto Plus (it’s equivalent of the National Lottery) draw you can expect the following similarities:

Similarities:Lottoland (Lotto Plus)National Lottery
FormatSix numbers from 1-59Six numbers from 1-59
Draw daysWednesday and SaturdayWednesday and Saturday
Jackpot odds1 in 45,000,0001 in 45,000,000
Price£2£2

Now for the differences:

Differences:Lottoland (Lotto Plus)National Lottery
Jackpot valueAlways £5million +Always £10million +
Draw closing time9:25pm7:30pm
Draw mechanismSwiss Lotto ExpressNational Lottery
OperatorLottolandCamelot

How Operators Match Jackpots

You may be wondering how betting on lottery operators can match official lottery jackpots when prizes for draws such as the US Powerball can exceed $1billion.

Below, Lottoland CEO, Nigel Birrell, explains:

Lottoland operates an insurance model which means that each bet someone makes is insured.

Lottoland pays all smaller wins directly from the revenue received from ticket sales/bets while the larger wins are covered by the insurance policies we have in place.

The insurance-based business model enables Lottoland to offer our players the ability to win huge jackpots, offered by official lottery operators, from all over the world.

Let’s take a closer look at how betting on lottery insurance works and why this means you can be certain that you will receive your prize, especially if you hit the jackpot.

The Insurance Model Explained

Lottoland and other betting on lottery operators work with insurance companies such as RISQ to cover the eventuality that one of their players wins the jackpot or a substantial prize.

The process is really simple; a small percentage of your ticket fee or bet is paid to the insurance provider who, in the event of a jackpot or large win, covers the cost on behalf of the operator.

To get a better understanding of how the betting on lottery insurance model works, we spoke to Julian Borg-Barthet, Director of Business Development at A-rated insurance provider, RISQ.

The insurance model works on the premise of taking the odds of winning versus the prize amount and calculating a cost per entry with a small margin to the insurance company. This can be a number of pence or a few pounds to cover.

Companies that offer this service such as RISQ use their own random number generator which are fully tested, certified, and licensed in regulated markets such as the UK.

For RISQ to be able to get the additional backing in the 10s of millions of pounds we need to leverage additional risk-taking sectors in the A-Rated insurance markets, the same companies that sit behind the insurance companies that back your car and home insurance every year.

Insurance backing for this type of risk is popular in the promotional prize-draw sector as well as with gambling companies looking to back betting on lottery services to their customers.

Betting on Lottery is Reputable and Fair

Just like official lottery draw operators, such as the National Lottery, betting on lottery providers accepting UK players must hold a licence from the UK Gambling Commission.

Lottoland, for example, is licenced by the UK Gambling Commission, the Gibraltar Gambling Control Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Swedish Gambling Authority and more.

This makes it more licensed and regulated than some of the best online casino sites.

When it comes to fairness, because the outcome of your bet is aligned to the outcome of the official lottery draw, it is impossible for betting on lottery operators to “fix” the result.

That being said, most betting on lottery operators offer additional games such as scratchcards, instant win games as well as casino games and slots.

For these games, betting on lottery operators use a random number generator to determine the outcome of each game so you can be sure that it is not rigged.

Lottoland has taken this one step further with its certified Random & Insured Number Generator (RiNGTM) developed by its own in-house team.

It is a landmark combination of new and existing technologies and works as follows:

  • A hardware RNG “Quantis Application” is used to deliver true quantum randomness

This means the game result is random

  • Two instances are installed for redundancy and failure

This means the RNG always works

  • The RiNG application is built on a future-driven tech stack

This means it is state-of-the-art

  • Multi-layer secure and protected environment with trusted time stamping

This means the results cannot be tampered with

By developing and deploying its RiNG, Lottoland is able to underwrite instant wins and casino games with its prize insurance policies.

This, in turn, means that it can offer huge jackpots on scratchcards, instant wins and slots without a percentage of your bet contributing to the jackpot total.

For example, KeNow Play has a jackpot of £10 million while Bingo Jackpot has a jackpot of £20 million. Without its RiNG, Lottoland simply could not offer such big prizes.

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How to Win when Lottery Betting

Winning while playing betting on lottery is just the same as winning while playing traditional lottery with official draw operators such as the National Lottery and EuroMillions.

When playing betting on lottery, you pick the numbers you think will be drawn and the prize you receive is based on the number of balls (numbers) you match correctly.

The prize structure for betting on lottery is just the same as it is with the official draw. In some cases, betting on lottery operators “boost” jackpots so they are even bigger than the official draw.

In terms of how you will receive your prize if you win, it is the same set up as with an official lottery draw.

Depending on the size of your prize, you will either receive a cash lump sum or an annuity (an annual payment) usually spread over 30 years.

Lottoland, for example, has an in-house risk assessment team who calculate the requirement for each prize tier and depending on the result decide whether to pay a lump sum or via instalments.

Benefits of Betting on Lottery vs. Traditional Lottery

You may ask what the benefits are to playing betting on lottery over entering an official lottery draw but there are plenty. This includes:

  • You can bet on lottery draws from around the world

  • Betting on lottery operators offer free bets, offers and more

  • Jackpots can be bigger than official draw jackpots

  • Everything is done online so it is super quick and easy

  • Access other games such as scratchcards, instant win and slots

Players Can Win Big

When playing betting on lottery, you are playing for the exact same jackpot that is up for grabs through the official draw – sometimes it is even bigger.

It is no surprise, then, that betting on lottery players can and do win big. For Lottoland, its biggest player win to date is £79million.

Christine, a 36-year-old from Berlin, Germany, bet on the results of the Eurojackpot with the numbers 14, 19, 21, 30, 32, 4 and 7 and matched them all correctly.

The win and payout actually earned Lottoland a Guinness World Record for the largest online gambling payout in history.

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