Top 10 Biggest Lottery Winners in the UK
The odds of winning the UK National Lottery are a whopping 45,057,474 to 1. Yes, that's one in more than 45 million! And the odds of winnings the jackpot of the EuroMillions draw are even greater at 139,838,160 to 1 – that's close to one in 140 million! Plus, to do that, players need to match five numbers from the main draw and two Lucky Star numbers, which is no mean feat. However, some UK ticket holders managed just that and overcame the truly astronomical odds. Here, we'll cover the stories behind the record-breaking EuroMillions jackpot and the nine others who are the biggest lottery winners in the UK ever. Let's draw the winning numbers…
1️⃣ Anonymous Ticket Holder – £195.7 Million on EuroMillions
The record EuroMillions jackpot for a UK ticket holder was won by someone who decided to remain anonymous. It happened not too long ago in July 2022, as reported in the Guardian newspaper. The winning ticket got five numbers from the midweek EuroMillions draw: 6, 23, 27, 40, 41. And, as if that wasn't impressive enough, the lucky winner also landed two Lucky Star numbers: 2 and 12. That meant that the lottery winner netted a cool £195,707,000. At the time, that instantly made the UK ticket holder richer than Adele, who has an estimated net worth of £150 million. Not a bad return on the £2.50 it costs UK players to buy a lottery ticket!
2️⃣ Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184.3 Million on EuroMillions
2022 certainly was a lucky year for UK residents playing the EuroMillions lottery. In May of that year, a couple from Gloucestershire won the EuroMillions jackpot worth an amazing £184,262,899. Again, the story was picked up by the UK press, as shown in this Guardian lottery story. After feeding the couple's dogs early one morning, Joe Thwaite looked at his phone messages to see he had won the EuroMillions jackpot. At first, he thought the prize money was in the thousands, but looking more closely he saw the full extent of the win! Best of all, Joe and Jess Thwaite won with a Lucky Dip ticket. What an inspired decision that was!
3️⃣ Anonymous Ticket Holder – £170.2 Million on the National Lottery
The biggest National Lottery win occurred in October 2019. The UK ticket holder scooped an astonishing £170,221,000, overcoming those 45 million to 1 odds. The National Lottery had called it a Must Win Draw. And the historic winnings were taken when the anonymous ticket holder guessed all six numbers. The third biggest winner chose to remain anonymous. And we certainly don't blame them. A big win on that kind of scale can be absolutely life-changing. In fact, many people who went public have ended up blowing the lot in a very short period of time. And one way to avoid that is to keep it a secret, even from friends and family. Tough!
4️⃣ Colin and Chris Weir – £161.7 Million on the National Lottery
We head up to Scotland for the next big winners on our list. Colin and Chris Weir won the jackpot on the UK National Lottery in July 2011. With the winnings, Colin realised a lifelong dream by buying a 55% share in his favourite football team, Partick Thistle. And as part of the deal, his majority ownership passed to local fans after his death in 2019. Additionally, the couple set up the Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 to help the local community, as well as donate £1 million to the Scottish Independence Referendum – the latter taking place in 2014. So, all in all, Colin and Chris Weir managed to use some of their lottery fortune for the benefit of others.
5️⃣ Adrian and Gillian Bayford – £148.7 Million on EuroMillions
Heading back to massive EuroMillions jackpot wins for a moment. Adrian and Gillian Bayford are on our biggest UK winners list with a £148,656,000 lotto jackpot. The lotto win happened in August 2012 – there's something about big wins in the summertime! Adrian and Gillian spent the money on a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire. Reportedly, the country pile came complete with a billiards room and a home cinema. However, the estate was sold in 2021 after the couple had divorced. So, it wasn't a fairytale ending for the Bayfords. However, it must've been quite a rush when realising their dreams after the gargantuan win was revealed.
Best of the Rest: The Next Five Biggest UK Lottery Winners
Four of the next five UK lottery winners decided to remain anonymous. These four take the sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth positions on our list of huge lottery winners. A couple of them happened after a super draw jackpot rollover – one of which was won after an amazing nine rollovers. The top prize in each instance was £123 million, £122 million, £121 million and £113 million, respectively. Then, in ninth place, we have Francis and Patrick Connolly with a £115 million win on New Year's Day in 2019. Former teacher Frances went on to set up two charitable foundations and estimates that she's already donated around £60 million. Nice!
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Emily is our Casino Researcher and statistical mastermind. She uncovers all the latest trends through the numbers and creates valuable insights to our readers and internally, so we can cover our articles and journalism from a statistical background and angle.
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