What’s a better alternative to the lottery – one that has more realistic odds of winning for less prize money?

Question by Starstruck: What’s a better alternative to the lottery – one that has more realistic odds of winning for less prize money?
I heard the Irish Lottery is good because you only need to match three numbers to get £500. Are there any lotteries which offer winnings of around the £200,000 to 800,000 mark with much more realistic odds of winning than the National Lottery?

Best answer:

Answer by Jack P
Below is what Wiki has concerning the UK and Ireland official lottery games available. The odds don’t qualify as ‘realistic’ but if you want to feel you’ve gambled without becoming the kind of person you see posting here, pretending to be a pro, it’s a favorable alternative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_(United_Kingdom)

UK Games
Several games operate under the National Lottery brand:

The game was rebranded ‘Lotto’ in 2002, with Johnston leading the further creative direction of the brand at Landor Associates. At that time the logo was given ‘eyes’ and a more friendly form to increase its general appeal.

Division of remaining funds after payout of 3-ball winners Matching Numbers Prize Odds of winning
3 numbers £10 per winner 56.65592 to 1
4 numbers 22% of remaining fund 1,032.397 to 1
5 numbers 10% of remaining fund 55,491.33 to 1
5 numbers and bonus ball 16% of remaining fund 2,330,636 to 1
6 numbers 52% of remaining fund 13,983,815 to 1
The overall odds of winning any prize is 52.65514 to 1.
The 6/49 mentioned above also had an optional add-on game known as Extra which could be played for an additional £1. However, its only prize was for matching all six regular numbers drawn for the 6/49 jackpot (there were no lower-tier prizes; a perfect match was required.) It was discontinued in 2006.
The Lotto prize fund is 45 percent of draw sales in a normal week. However, the long-term average percentage is almost exactly 46 percent due to an occasional Super Draw paid for from a Super Draw reserve fund, set aside each draw. The three-ball prize winners are calculated first, these receive £10 each; the remaining prize fund is then divided as shown in the table below and split equally with the number of winners for each selection:

[edit] Lotto Hotpicks
Lotto Hotpicks odds and payouts Match Prize Odds of winning
1 number £5 1 in 9
2 numbers £40 1 in 79
3 numbers £450 1 in 922
4 numbers £7,000 1 in 14,126
5 numbers £130,000 1 in 317,814
Lotto Hotpicks uses the main Lotto draw for its numbers but is a different game. The player chooses both the numbers and the number of draw balls they want to try and match (up to a maximum of five balls). However, if the player does not match all the numbers chosen, they are not a winner. The National Lottery describe Hotpicks as “Five games in one”, because the player has a choice of five ways of playing the game, each offering different odds and payouts.

The entry fee to the Lotto Hotpicks draw is £1 per board.

[edit] Thunderball
Thunderball Match Prize Odds of winning
1 + Thunderball £5 1 in 33
2 + Thunderball £10 1 in 107
3 numbers £10 1 in 74
3 + Thunderball £20 1 in 960
4 numbers £100 1 in 2,067
4 + Thunderball £250 1 in 26,866
5 numbers £5,000 1 in 299,661
5 + Thunderball £250,000 1 in 3,895,584
The first Thunderball draw was on 12 June 1999. Players pick five main numbers from 1 to 34 and one ‘Thunderball’ number from 1 to 14, for an entry fee of £1. Initially only held on Saturdays, draws currently take place every Saturday and Wednesday and are televised live on BBC One. The entry fee to the Lotto draw is £1 per board. The odds and payouts are as follows.

From 09 May 2010 Thunderball is changing. The five main numbers will now be picked from 1 to 39 (up from 1 to 34). The prize for matching 5 main numbers and the Thunderball is doubling to £500,000. There is a new £3 prize for just matching the Thunderball. The entry fee remains the same at £1.

[edit] Dream Number
Dream Number Match Prize Odds of winning
1st number only £2 1 in 11.12
1st 2 numbers £10 1 in 111.12
1st 3 numbers £100 1 in 1,111.2
1st 4 numbers £500 1 in 11,112
1st 5 numbers £5,000 1 in 111,112
1st 6 numbers £50,000 1 in 1,111,112
all 7 numbers £500,000 1 in 10,000,000
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 10.
Source: National Lottery Players Guide
Dream Number was launched on 15 July 2006. Dream Number involves generating a random seven digit number for entry into the draw. It can be played independently of Lotto, or if played with Lotto one Dream Number is generated per ticket, not per lotto entry. The cost of entry is £1. A dream number is automatically printed on every lotto ticket bought, whether the player has chosen to enter it into the draw or not. Unlike other Lotto games, it is not possible to choose the number entered, and the order that the numbers are drawn is important, since the numbers must be matched in order for the player to win. Players must match with the first number in order to start winning prizes (ranging from £2 to £500,000), which results in the unfortunate side-effect that 90% of players lose as soon as the first ball is drawn. Draws take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but only the Saturday draw is televised live on BBC One. The Wednesday draw takes place prior to the live TV show and the winning dream number is announced during the show. All money raised for good causes from Dream Number will go towards the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

[edit] Scratchcards
As well as draw tickets, the National L