You're six times more likely to win lottery jackpot this week
Lottery players are six times more likely to nab a share of this Wednesday's jackpot, as the rules mean there has to be a winner.
Under the system that was introduced in 2015, when the prize fund racks up to £22 million or more it must be won. And following ten draws in a row in which nobody has successfully matched all six numbers, the pot now stands at a whopping £24.7 million.
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If nobody correctly predicts all six numbers, the prize will go to somebody matching five numbers plus the bonus ball. If, as is likely, that's more than one person, the fund will be split between them.
It means that the odds of winning a share of the jackpot fall from the usual one in 45 million to one in 7.5 million.
Rollovers like this have become more common since Camelot added ten extra balls into the draw 18 months ago. And the prize has now been rolled over ten times in a row, with the last win, £3.4 million, back on April 15.
On Saturday, nobody matched six balls and only one person matched five plus the bonus, winning £89,567. Meanwhile, the £500,000 Thunderball prize was won on Saturday for the first time since March 29.
"They've made it extremely difficult to win. When you look at the things you would compare it to, like being struck by lightning, you see how difficult it is," Rob Mastrodomenico, founder of consultancy Global Sports Statistics, tells the Telegraph.
"It would need nearly every person in the UK to buy a ticket, and to have a unique combination, to guarantee that someone would win each week. That's why there's so many more rollovers now."
Increasing the number of balls from 49 to 59 has made it three times harder to win the jackpot, with the odds now 45 million to one. Meanwhile, instead of limiting the number of rollovers to four, the jackpot is allowed to keep growing until it hits £22 million - making for an even longer period without a winner.
So far this year, only 11 players have managed to match all six numbers, with three quarters of draws ending in a rollover.
