The UK National Lottery is the most popular lottery in the UK selling around 14 to 15 million tickets for each draw which take place twice per week on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Having the opportunity to win millions of pounds with just a single ticket is the main attraction to the UK Lotto but with odds of over 144,000/1 to win more than a £140 prize, many have turned to the Irish Lotto due to the greater chance of winning a reasonably sized prize.
The Irish Lottery is the national lottery in Ireland and like the UK Lotto, takes place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. There are 47 numbers in the Irish Lotto compared to 59 in the UK lottery and the chances of winning the jackpot, as well as other prizes, are considerably greater compared to the UK Lottery.
Below, you can see the odds for all winning combinations for the UK Lotto along with the associated prize.
UK Lotto Odds
6 Numbers (jackpot)
- Odds: 1 in 45,057,474
- Prize: Jackpot (varies)
5 Numbers + Bonus Ball
- Odds: 1 in 7,509,579
- Prize: £1,000,000 (fixed)
5 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 144,415
- Prize: £1,750 (fixed)
4 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 2,180
- Prize: £140 (fixed)
3 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 97
- Prize: £30 (fixed)
2 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 10.3
- Prize: Free Lotto Lucky Dip
We can now compare this to the odds and payouts for the Irish Lottery.
Irish Lotto Odds
6 Numbers (Jackpot)
- Odds: 1 in 10,737,573
- Prize: Jackpot (varies)
5 Numbers + Bonus Ball
- Odds: 1 in 1,789,596
- Prize: £89,000 (estimated)
5 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 44,740
- Prize: £1,300 (estimated)
4 Numbers + Bonus Ball
- Odds: 1 in 17,896
- Prize: £130 (estimated)
4 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 918
- Prize: £44 (estimated)
3 Numbers + Bonus Ball
- Odds: 1 in 688
- Prize: £44 (estimated)
3 Numbers
- Odds: 1 in 54
- Prize: £8 (estimated)
2 Numbers + Bonus Ball
- Odds: 1 in 72
- Prize: £2 (estimated)
UK Lotto Odds Compared To Irish Lotto Odds
Starting with the biggest prize, we can see that the odds of matching six numbers and winning the jackpot with the UK Lottery are 1 in 45,057,474 compared to 1 in 10,737,573 with the Irish Lotto. The Irish Lottery Jackpot is slightly lower than the UK Lotto Jackpot with the largest jackpot being €18.9 million compared to the UK’s £66,100,000 although you’re unlikely to complain if you won either of them!
The odds of landing other prizes are also greater with the Irish Lotto such as 1,789,596 for matching 5 numbers + the bonus ball compared to the UK’s 1 in 7,509,579.
Even for the smaller prizes the odds are greater. Matching 3 numbers on the UK Lotto have odds of 1 in 97 but only 1 in 54 with the Irish Lotto.
Is The Irish Lotto Better Than The UK Lotto?
Many players prefer to bet on the Irish Lotto due to the lower odds (greater chance) of winning a prize. The compremise is that the payouts are also lower. However, as most people play the lottery to win considerable amounts, if you won the Irish Lotto jackpot, you will still receive millions of pounds.
The odds of winning any prize with the UK Lotto are 1 in 9.3 and so you may be suprised to hear that the odds of winning any prize with the Irish Lotto are 1 in 29. However, the lowest prize with the UK Lotto is a free Lucky Dip which has odds of 1 in 10.3. The next prize up which is £30 cash has odds of 1 in 97 and so the odds of winning a cash prize is significantly greater when playing the Irish Lotto.
