EuroMillions and Millionaire Raffle

The Commission considered changes proposed by Camelot to the EuroMillions game in October 2010. The licence for the EuroMillions and Millionaire Raffle games was subsequently varied to allow Camelot to introduce the revised game in May 2011. Key changes were:

• An increase in the number of balls from which the Lucky Stars are drawn, from 9 to 11 (which changes the odds of winning the jackpot from around 1 in 76 million to around 1 in 116 million);
• the addition of an extra £3 prize tier (match 2 + 0 Stars);
• an increase in the percentage of the (50%) prize fund for each draw that is allocated to the reserve fund (a fund common to all participating countries that can be used to increase jackpots) from 6% to 8.6%;
• an extra draw day on Tuesdays; and
• the changes are being made in all EuroMillions playing countries.

In reviewing the request to change the EuroMillions game, we considered the following:

• is the action (for example, research undertaken) taken by Camelot, and subsequent conclusions drawn from it, reasonable?;
• are issues raised that would cause the Commission to refuse to licence the game?; and
• do issues raised fall into areas in which Camelot has an established track record?

The Commission considered the proposed game against these points in the context of its statutory duties and directions issued by the Secretary of State. Our decision is explained by reference to our duties, as outlined below.

Propriety

This duty requires the consideration of a range of matters relevant to the licensing of National Lottery games, including:

• Being satisfied that the game represents a legal lottery, in line with the definition in the Gambling Act 2005;
• the proposed game’s consistency with the National Lottery brand;
• security against fraud;
• the implications of the Friday draw potentially subsidising the Tuesday draw; and
• the context in which the game would be available, for example the wider gambling market.

Given that the game was already in the market these were fairly straightforward. With regard to subsidisation there are a number of other Lottery games where this already happens and it has not caused any problems.

Player Protection

This duty requires consideration of a number of issues, including the impact of proposed changes upon players, risk of excessive play, and potential for play by Under 16s. The Commission considered, among other things, the following:

• The impact of making the jackpot more difficult to win and thus increasing the probable number of rollovers;
• the increase in monies being directed from the prize pool into the reserve fund to guarantee base jackpots at €15 million for all draws and to fund event draws; and
• introducing an extra EuroMillions draw.

Having considered these points, we were satisfied that permitting the changes to the EuroMillions game would be consistent with our statutory duty to protect players. Whilst jackpots will roll more, the existing €185m cap will remain and it will still be statistically unlikely for jackpots to reach this amount.

Returns to Good Causes

Given that we were satisfied on player propriety and player protection, we went on to consider the projected returns to good causes. The Commission accepted that the proposed changes would keep EuroMillions as a big rolling jackpot game as originally envisaged. We were satisfied with Camelot’s research, which showed that this change would have a positive impact upon returns to good causes.

Decision

Based on information provided by Camelot, our own consideration and taking into account our statutory duties, the Commission agreed to vary the Section 6 licence for EuroMillions.

The Licence for EuroMillions and Millonaire Raffle is available to download on the left hand side of this page.

Related downloads

• EuroMillions and Millionaire Raffle games licence

  As of 7 May 2011

  (pdf - 496kb)