Thunderball FAQs

To play Thunderball, pick five main numbers from 1 to 39 and a Thunderball number between 1 and 14. Choose your own numbers or request a Lucky Dip, and select the draw(s) you want to enter.

Draws are held four times a week – on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at approximately 8:00pm.

You can play Thunderball up to 7:30pm on the day of a draw. Ticket sales will then reopen later for the next draw.

You can enter up to four weeks in advance, making it possible to play 16 consecutive draws if you select Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. You can also play continuously by Direct Debit.

Yes. The Thunderball is drawn from a separate set of numbers from 1 to 14, so you can select the same number twice on your playslip – once as a main ball and once as the Thunderball.

It costs £1 per line to play Thunderball – making it the National Lottery’s cheapest draw game.

You can take part in the game without being in the UK. Lottery concierge services allow you to choose numbers from around the world, then an agent based in the UK will buy an official ticket on your behalf. A copy of the ticket will be sent to you as proof of purchase.

You win prizes by matching your selected numbers to the winning numbers.

Prizes start at £3 for matching just the Thunderball and increase in value as you match more numbers. You win the jackpot of £500,000 if you match all five main numbers plus the Thunderball.

No. All the prize amounts are fixed regardless of the number of winners. Prizes will only be capped in the very unlikely event that that the total value of all the payouts is more than four times the value of the entries submitted for the draw.

There are no rollovers in Thunderball. The jackpot is always £500,000.

The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 13. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 8,060,598.

If you win a Thunderball prize, you have 180 days to claim your money. If you come forward after this deadline, your ticket will no longer be valid.