UK National Lottery - Thunderball
 Current Jackpot Value £ 500,000
Thunderball - Overview 
After the UK Lotto, Thunder Ball is the next largest game that the UK National Lottery has to offer from its wide range of lotteries. It was introduced in 7th June 1999, with the first draw taking place on 12th June, 4½ years after the National Lottery itself began. The top prize in the National Lottery game - Thunderball - is £500,000 and it offers the best chance of winning up to that amount.
How It Works…
Thunderball uses what’s known as a double matrix of 5/39 and 1/14. The first being from which the main numbers are drawn out of a pool of numbers ranging from 1 to 39 – then the second matrix from which the Thunderball Number is drawn out of a pool of numbers ranging from 1 to 14. This means that when playing, you will need to select the 5 main numbers first from 1 to 39 and the Thunderball from 1 to 14. If you match all 5 main numbers drawn plus the Thunder-ball, you will be a jackpot winner. There are many different ways in which you can win on this game – 9 in fact – and that is apart from the jackpot itself. Aside from the top prize, you can win by matching the 5 main numbers, 4 main numbers plus the Thunder-ball, 4 main numbers, 3 main numbers plus the Thunder-ball, 3 main numbers, 2 main numbers plus the Thunder-ball, 1 main number plus the Thunder-ball and even for matching NO main numbers - JUST the Thunder-ball. A “Lucky Dip” facility is available when playing too, the same as with the UK National Lotto, EuroMillions and the “Quick Pick” facility that is used in many USA lotteries & Canadian lotteries – which means that you can ask the lottery retailer or computer to randomly select all your Thunderball numbers for you.
So, playing the UK Thunderball is easy…just select your own 6 numbers or request them to be randomly generated for you by using the “Lucky Dip” option. The cost of playing is just £1 per 6 number selection.
Who Can Play? 
As with most British lotteries, previously only citizens living in the United Kingdom were allowed to play in any of the National Lottery games - you used to have to purchase your tickets from an authorized retailer based in the UK itself. Nowadays, though, there are a good number of online lottery ticket retailers who are both authorized and genuine - you are able to select your numbers online and purchase your tickets without worrying about where in the world you are living. This is great news of course if you live outside of the UK and want to play the game and ensure your entry into the next draw or just want to have the convenience and ease of purchasing your lottery tickets online. Once you have entered into the draw, you can then easily check the Thunderball results online to see how you have done and to find out if you have become one of the lucky winners. As with the UK Lotto, there is a slightly lower age limit than for most countries - you only need to be 16 years of age to be eligible to purchase a ticket for any of the UK National Lottery games. Click here to Play Thunderball Now
Information & Background
Thunderball was the third weekly UK Lottery draw to be introduced by Camelot. Initial expectations were to have weekly ticket sales of £4 million. The very first draw back in 1999, took place as part of “Winning Lines” – a Talking Telephone Numbers rip-off lottery show. On May 9th 2010 – the Thunder-ball matrix was changed from 5/34 + 1/14 to 5/39 + 1/14 and the top prize was increased from £250,000 to a much more exciting £500,000. The drawings take place each week, just before the main UK Lotto draw on both Wednesdays and Saturdays. You can check the Thunderball results online at this website (see below) or on television at BBC1 on Saturdays at 7.30pm GMT or Wednesdays at 22.35pm GMT.
What Are The Odds?
The odds of winning this game are good when compared to many other lottery games around the world. The chances of winning a jackpot and matching all 5 main numbers plus the Thunder Ball are 1 in 8.06 million – for these odds you could be one of the jackpot winners. For one of the prizes on the second level and matching the 5 main numbers, the odds are 1 in 650.04 thousand. The likelihood of winning a third tier prize by matching 4 of the main numbers plus the Thunder Ball are at odds of 1 in 47.41 thousand and for a prize on the fourth tier for matching 4 main numbers, the odds are reduced right down to just 1 in 3,647. To win a prize on the fifth tier and match 3 of the main numbers plus the Thunder-Ball, you are looking at odds of 1 in 1,437. With so many different ways to win, of course, there are also odds for sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth tier prizes, which are 1 in 111, 1 in 135, 1 in 35 and 1 in 29 respectively. The overall odds of you winning any prize in this game from the National Lottery are a very reasonable 1 in 12. These are great odds for a £1/2 million jackpot game that produces many cash winners every single week.
Record Jackpots…
The jackpot prize for the Thunderball game remains constant at a half a million pounds.
How Are Jackpots Paid?
All UK National Lottery jackpots are paid in the form of tax free cash lump sums and that includes the top prizes in all its main games. You will need to claim your lottery win within 180 days of the draw taking place before your entry becomes invalid and the money you would have won is given to relevant good causes. Click here to
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UK Lotto-Thunderball-Euromillions Lucky Dip 
