What are the Advantages to Playing Thunderball?
Last Updated: Wednesday 3rd August 2016, 15:11
As one lucky Thunderball player celebrates winning the top prize of £500,000 in the latest draw on Wednesday 20th July, fans of other UK National Lottery games may be starting to consider whether they should expand their options and explore the other draws offered each week. While Lotto and EuroMillions might offer bigger jackpots, there are a number of factors which could make Thunderball the ideal game to play.
Thunderball is the cheapest of the three games at just £1 per ticket and there are three draws a week, rather than the two provided by Lotto and EuroMillions, giving participants an extra opportunity to win big. Nine prize tiers are available, all with fixed rewards, so it doesn’t matter how many other players match the same amount of numbers - you will win the advertised amount, whether that’s £3 for matching the Thunderball or £500,000 for the top prize.
The odds of winning the jackpot are also significantly better when compared to other games, standing at 1 in 8,060,598. As you are only selecting five main numbers from a choice of 39 and one Thunderball number between 1 and 14, this makes it easier to snag a prize. The overall odds of winning are 1 in 13.
| Odds of Winning Thunderball | Odds of Winning Lotto | Odds of Winning EuroMillions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in 8,060,598 | 1 in 45,057,474 | 1 in 116,531,800 |
As well as the ticket holder who won the top prize on Wednesday night, two players matched all five main numbers to win £5,000 each. Visit the Thunderball Results page to find out all the latest winning numbers and to see prize breakdowns.
As with all National Lottery games, Thunderball supports good causes, with 28p from the sale of every ticket going towards worthy projects across the UK. You can also play Thunderball in a syndicate, either with friends or colleagues or online through the Lottery Tickets page. The odds of winning the Thunderball top prize are already lower than other games, but by joining forces with fellow players you can further increase your chances because you will have a share of more tickets entered into the draw.
Thunderball is played every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night, so you could give it a go this weekend to see if you strike it lucky. Tickets can be bought from authorised retailers in the UK as well as online. Best of luck!