Lottery Players Excited by Annuity Game Rumours

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Lottery players are getting excited by the news that the UK could see the arrival of an annuity prize game in 2019. Rumours about the game currently being circulated by some seriously reliable media organisations, including BBC News, say that it could pay winners up to £10,000 per month, for life.

The National Lottery announced a series of changes to its games earlier this week, including the news that an annuity-style draw could launch in 2019. This type of lottery is designed to provide the winner with long-term financial security over the course of yearly payments rather than paying out a single jackpot windfall. The concept has already been embraced by lottery organisers in several other countries, and has proven to be very popular with many players, particularly Millenials.

Why Annuity Games Appeal

The appeal of annuity prize games amongst younger players isn’t difficult to understand. A lottery winner who is 20 years old and wins £10,000 per month for life might reasonably collect a monthly cheque for 60 years, which would give them a total payout of £7,200,000. Compare that with the prospect or winning a basic Lotto jackpot of around £3,500,000 and, all other things being equal, the annuity option wins hands down.

Of course, the big drawback of winning an annuity game is that there is no initial multimillion-pound windfall. Winners would therefore need to buy their new mansion with a mortgage instead of outright, and they would need to budget accordingly if they want to splash out on a six or seven-figure purchase, such as a luxury sports car. Another drawback is that annuity games are less appealing to older players, for the simple reason that they may not expect to live long enough to make the annuity option any more lucrative than a straightforward jackpot.

Those drawbacks aside, there is a lot to like about annuity games, and the prospect of winning long-term financial security is one that would appeal to many players in the UK, especially with the economy in a state of ongoing unease.

The Choice Format

Another alternative to annuity-only games is the choice format, which allows winners to make their own decision between taking a regular annuity or a lump sum. Powerball in the USA, for example, gives players the choice between taking an annual sum for 29 years, or a single jackpot sum which would be less than the total paid via the annuity option. 

Watch This Space...

We won’t know exactly what any annuity-style game will offer UK players until some fixed details are released, so we will have to be patient and see what news comes to light in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, lottery players still have plenty of opportunities to win themselves a good old-fashioned lump sum jackpot, including an estimated £65 million in the EuroMillions game this Friday. Choose your numbers here to give yourself a chance of winning, and good luck!