When it comes to the supplementary games for both lotteries, then the answer is certainly yes. Lotto Raffle, worth £20,000 to 50 Lotto ticket holders, and Millionaire Maker, which awards one UK EuroMillions player with £1 million every time the game is played, both have odds of winning which fluctuate depending on how many tickets are sold. With more players entering both Lotto and EuroMillions on the weekend draws, it follows that you have a better chance of banking one of these sweet prizes in midweek.
The statistics bear this out - the estimated UK sales for a Tuesday EuroMillions draw at the base jackpot of £11 million (€15 million) are 4.8 million, whereas a Friday draw at the starting jackpot will attract 7.5 million British ticket holders. As one UK entrant has to win £1 million in each draw, your chances of winning Millionaire Maker on a Tuesday are greatly increased.
Similarly, with 50 Lotto entries guaranteed to match a winning Raffle code in each draw, you stand a greater chance of success on a Wednesday with a starting jackpot, when approximately 8.5 million players will take part, than on a Saturday when 16.5 million are likely to play.
For the main Lotto draw, the base jackpot for a Wednesday is lower than that for a Saturday, with the prize pools for each winning tier also higher at the weekend. However, the potential for winning a higher prize on a Saturday has to be offset against the risk of that pool being shared by more ticket holders. Similarly, even though EuroMillions has the same starting jackpot whichever day the draw falls on, a Friday night draw will see more competition for the available prize money. To see the prize breakdowns for Lotto and EuroMillions draws throughout the history of the games, visit the Lottery Results section of Lottery.co.uk.
There are, of course, other factors which affect your payout, such as the spread of numbers in the winning line - with a large amount of players picking lottery numbers based on memorable dates, if the balls drawn are all below 31 then the prizes available are more likely to be shared.
Although it is difficult to claim for certain whether playing the main Lotto and EuroMillions games in midweek or at the weekend is more lucrative, you will definitely shorten your odds of winning on Lotto Raffle and Millionaire Maker. They may not allow you to quit your job for decades of constant globe-trotting, but both will change your life for the better if you manage to beat the odds.
Make sure you get hold of your Lotto and EuroMillions tickets, which will instantly enter you into both supplementary games, online or from authorised retailers.
