For 30 years, Lotto has been a cherished part of UK life – offering people the chance to dream, supporting good causes, and creating countless winners and thousands of millionaires. Lotto has long been trusted, embedded in our cultural fabric, and synonymous with hope and possibility. For many, it has been the game that offers a chance to dream and change lives while supporting good causes across the UK.

Fantastic prizes like this are the reason the twice-weekly Lotto draws make headlines. A big Lotto prize has the potential to change the lives of everyone close to you, whether it’s the opportunity to take dream holidays, buy a ‘forever home’, or give back on a scale few can imagine.

Here are five big Lotto winners who have shared their news:

• £3.8MMillion, Diane Bate, Wales, 12th December 2020
• £1MMillion, Terry Kennedy, Yorkshire, 10th November 2021
• £1MMillion, Deborah Burgess, Leicestershire, 19th August 2023
• £3.8MMillion, Jonny Johnston from Enniskillen, 16th December 2023
• £1MMillion, Terry Gillings, County Durham, 26th March 2025

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The players who match all six main numbers win equal shares of the Lotto jackpot. The chance of doing so is 1 in 45,057,474, but the odds of winning any prize on the game are a much more manageable 9.3 to 1. The Lotto draw is held twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most winners for a single Lotto jackpot was 133 in January 1995, with each player winning £122,510.

Lotto is the original millionaire maker and we love it when one of our big winners chooses to share their incredible news with the world. You can find the amazing stories of some of those who have here. One thing is certain: there is no typical Lotto winner. Some lucky players who became Lotto millionaires recently include a builder from County Durham, a lorry driver from Essex and a hospital worker from Leicestershire. Wherever you live, whatever you do, a big Lotto win gives you the opportunity to make dreams come true.

Terry – family comes first

Helping out his four daughters was a priority for Terry Gillings, a builder from County Durham, after he won an amazing £1MMillion Lotto prize.

The 61-year-old said, “We’ve always worked hard and helped our kids where we can, but this is a whole other level – surely, it’s every parent’s dream. We decided straightaway that we wanted the girls to benefit from our luck. I’ll never forget phoning our daughters to tell them that their mortgages were being paid off, it generated quite a bit of screaming and joy!”

Terry and his wife Caroline, 54, won their amazing prize in the Lotto draw held on Wednesday 26th March 2025.

Gary – a truck load of cash

An incredible £5.2MMillion Lotto jackpot prize put Gary MacDonald, a 60-year-old lorry driver from Essex, firmly in the driving seat.

Gary was looking forward to indulging his passion for Formula 1 by attending races at tracks across the world. In the meantime, he and his partner Anita, splashed out on a brand new vacuum cleaner.

Gary said, “We still shopped around for the best deal. We are not flash people. We are very down to earth and know the value of things.”

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Becoming a Lotto millionaire is a life-changing experience. Suddenly, things that seemed like faraway dreams are within your reach. It’s a lot to deal with and naturally, there are adjustments to be made.

Andrew Carter, senior winners’ advisor at Allwyn UK, the operator of The National Lottery, said most Lotto winners take their time to consider what to do with the money. He explained, “If they’ve got a mortgage, they pay it off; if they’ve got kids, they set them up. And if they’ve got a dream they go and do it.”

Anyone who wins £1MMillion or more on The National Lottery – regardless of whether they choose to share their news – gets free access to legal and financial advice and a wellbeing expert to help them make the most of their win. There’s also a free concierge service in case you want to book that luxury holiday you’ve always dreamed of!

Encouraging responsible play is at the heart of everything we do. You can find out more about player safety and wellbeing at www.national-lottery.co.uk/responsible-play.

We all fantasise about having £1MMillion or more in the bank, but when the dream becomes reality, there are some important questions to be answered. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about winning Lotto.

Can winners remain anonymous?

A: Yes, absolutely. People can decide to share their amazing news, of course, but it’s entirely up to them.

Are Lotto wins taxable?

A: There is no tax to be paid on the win. When players buy a National Lottery ticket, 12p in every pound is paid to the Treasury in Lottery Duty, but there's no tax imposed on the initial prize. However, if the win is invested and produces income, it will be taxed in the same way as any other income.

Who is entitled to your win?

A: This is straightforward: we pay the prize to the owner of the ticket.

How can you gift your wins?

A: You can certainly gift all or part of your winnings, but there can be implications so make sure you take advice first.

Remember, you’re not on your own if you become a Lotto millionaire. All winners will be offered free access to legal and financial specialists who can answer all your questions. Lotto winners can also speak to our wellbeing expert. And if a winner decides to share their fantastic news, they will be introduced to a community of winners who know first-hand what it’s like to become a National Lottery millionaire.

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Every time you buy a Lotto ticket you’re helping The National Lottery raise more than £30MMillion a week for Good Causes right across the UK. From renovating sports centres, community halls and cherished buildings, to supporting the young and old and helping the arts flourish, in every postcode district across the UK hundreds of projects have been supported with National Lottery funding.

By playing National Lottery games, you’re helping make a real change to people and communities in every corner of the UK. Whether it’s reviving local parks and building youth centres or bringing people together on allotments or sports fields, The National Lottery helps ordinary people do amazing things.

Making sure as much money as possible goes towards life-changing Good Cause projects is incredibly important to us. In fact, it’s what we’re here for. For every National Lottery ticket sold, a proportion of the money received goes to a huge variety of projects, both big and small – from repairing Scout huts to making sure our Olympic and Paralympic champions are at their medal-winning best. So, every time you play, the UK wins.

Many of our winners use their good fortune as an opportunity to give back. Many winners tell us that being able to make a difference to causes that mean a lot to you and your family is one of the best parts of winning.

But even if you’re not a winner, your ticket is still helping change lives – and we have plenty of stories to share about amazing projects you’ve helped support by playing The National Lottery. You can read our most recent highlights below.

July 2025

**Two millionaires is an average based from 1st January 2024 – 31st December 2024