383 new millionaires and a £50BNBillion milestone for Good Causes

Players who became millionaires in the past 12 months shared prizes totalling an incredible £848MMillion. But that’s not all. An average of 70 high-tier prizes (£50,000 or more) were paid out every single month in 2024.

Highlights of the year included the UK’s third biggest win of all time. The eye-watering £177MMillion EuroMillions jackpot went to an anonymous player who bought a ticket for the draw held on 26th November.

Meanwhile, Richard and Debbie Nuttall from Lancashire walked away with an astonishing £61MMillion EuroMillions jackpot. The couple were on holiday in Fuerteventura in January when they learned they’d scooped the incredible prize.

National Lottery players have a final chance to win big in 2024 with a special EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker draw on New Year’s Eve (31st December 2024), which guarantees to make 10 UK millionaires.

Further analysis of 2024’s big wins reveals people working in construction have once again nailed down the title of the nation’s luckiest job. And the starriest star sign among our latest crop of millionaires was Gemini, followed by Cancer and Libra.

It’s not just winners who are celebrating 2024. Thanks to National Lottery players, the amount raised for National Lottery Good Causes reached a staggering £50BNBillion. From helping projects making a difference in communities across the country to supporting the nation’s top athletes, every National Lottery ticket bought has helped fund more than 700,000 individual grants made since the first draw was held in 1994.

2024 was the year National Lottery-funded athletes won big in Paris. Team GB brought home 64 Olympic medals and ParalympicsGB netted an astounding 124 Paralympic medals.

Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said, “Wow! What an amazing year it’s been! We’ve been incredibly busy this year paying out hundreds of prizes and transforming 383 lucky National Lottery ticket holders into millionaires!

“There’s nothing quite like the joy of witnessing our winners’ expressions as we deliver their incredible wins. Every day, whether it’s celebrating our winners or supporting Good Causes, National Lottery players are helping make a real difference to people’s lives across the nation - and it’s all thanks to that little pink ticket!”

Looking at the year’s biggest wins reveals some fascinating trends. Here’s a few of 2024’s most interesting facts:

Builders have built a solid foundation when it comes to claiming the title of The National Lottery’s luckiest profession. They did it again in 2024 with hard-working nurses and doctors (health service workers) in second place and savvy business managers in third.

Looking back on the year’s lucky Lotto numbers, 11 has appeared more than any other (16 times) followed by 48, 25, 19 and 3. The least drawn balls were 55, 30 and 46, all of which were drawn five times. As for the Lotto Bonus Ball, it was the number 17 which topped the lot, appearing six times.

The luckiest EuroMillions number (rolled out a whopping 18 times) was ball number 7. It was followed by 16, 18 and 13. The luckiest of the Lucky Stars were numbers 12 and 1.

Where to start? There were so many extraordinary wins! Hartlepool’s Joanne Jobson, who cares for children with disabilities, treated her family and booked a world cruise after she won the Set For Life top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years in February. She said, “I still can’t believe that I’ve won, it’s absolutely life-changing for me.”

Police officers Graeme and Katherine White from Cambridgeshire were looking forward to enjoying the ‘Good Life’ – complete with chickens and goats – after scooping an incredible EuroMillions windfall of £1MMillion in May. They had their sights set on a dream home in the countryside for their young family. Graeme said, “This win changed everything for us.”

And who can forget the Cobbs Syndicate from Peterborough? The National Lottery numbers they picked at a Christmas get-together in 1994 finally scooped them a £1MMillion Lotto prize in June after matching five main numbers and the Bonus Ball. Each member of the family syndicate, which includes a mum and her three children, banked £250,000. Syndicate leader David, who always believed they would win one day, said it was “an incredible moment”.

John Lingard from Great Yarmouth won Thunderball’s top prize of £500,000 in September. He said, “I visit Tenerife three or four times a year, but when I left in September, I told friends I probably couldn’t make it back any time soon. Thanks to my Thunderball luck, I can afford to head back for a little winter sun and celebrate with my friends.”

Meanwhile, lucky Luke Harris from Kent won £1MMillion on a National Lottery Scratchcard in October. His National Lottery story began when he picked up a Scratchcard on a trip to his local shop to buy bread. Luke said, “I scratched it as soon as I got in the car. I looked at it about 10 times, and kept saying to myself, ‘this can’t be real’.”

Sheena Clayton from Northallerton, who works as a carer, won £110,000 on EuroMillions in November. The mum-of-two almost missed out on the life-changing prize as she had just finished a night shift on the morning of the draw. Luckily, she remembered to buy a EuroMillions ticket. Sheena described the win as “just surreal”. She added, “I feel I am proof that winning The National Lottery does really happen and happens to ordinary people like me!”

30th December 2024

Source: Allwyn. Winning data taken from 1/1/24 – 24/12/24; Ball frequency data taken from 1/1/2024 – 23/12/2024; EuroMillions jackpot wins data taken from 1/1/24 – 23/12/24