National Lottery Announces Historic Dual-Chance Draws and Powerball Launch
The National Lottery is set to implement its most significant transformation in over three decades, introducing two chances to win in its main draw for the first time and launching a new mega jackpot game. Operator Allwyn will roll out these changes starting June 7, marking the biggest overhaul to the draw-based game since 1994.
Dual-Chance Draws to Create More Millionaires
From June 7, players will have two opportunities to win in each Lotto draw, a revolutionary change expected to more than double the number of millionaires created annually. Currently producing around 140 millionaires per year, the new system is projected to increase that figure to approximately 345. The first two-round draw will occur on Wednesday, June 10, with draws continuing every Saturday and Wednesday at around 8 pm.
Powerball Comes to the UK with Billion-Pound Jackpots
Later this summer, Allwyn will launch the UK-specific version of Powerball, the world's largest jackpot game. This marks the first entirely new game in National Lottery history. UK players will pay £4 per line to compete with American participants for shared jackpots exceeding £1 billion. UK winners will receive their prizes over 30 years. Allwyn secured an agreement with the US-based Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) to bring Powerball to Britain, though an exact launch date remains pending.
Technological Foundation and Charitable Impact
These innovations follow Allwyn's recent completion of a £450 million technology upgrade, which involved migrating 18 million player records and over three billion historical transactions to new platforms. The upgrade also modernized systems used by retail partners, creating a robust foundation for new games.
The new Powerball draw will allocate over 30% of ticket prices to good causes, generating an estimated £1 billion in additional charitable funding over its first five years. Allwyn CEO Andria Vidler emphasized the company's commitment to delivering more games, entertainment, and innovation to The National Lottery, highlighting the completed digital and retail channel upgrades as enablers for these exciting developments.
