Lottery Cost Calculator
See how much playing Lotto, EuroMillions or another game adds up to over the years — plus the jackpot odds and a reminder that the lottery is entertainment, not a plan.
Estimate only. Ticket prices, odds and the expected-return figure are illustrative and based on published game information — this is a spending estimate, not financial or gambling advice. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, visit gamcare.org.uk or begambleaware.org.
Illustrative long-run return
- Expected return (~47.5p per £1, long-run average)
- £988
- Expected net cost, long-run average
- £1,092
Playing smarter
- The lottery is entertainment, not a savings or investment plan — the expected-return figure is a long-run statistical average across millions of players, not a return you can rely on personally.
- Set a small, fixed "fun budget" for tickets each month and stick to it, rather than letting spend drift up over time.
- A syndicate spreads the ticket cost across more people, which improves your chance of winning something — but also splits any prize the same way.
- Because each ticket feels small, it's easy to underestimate lifetime spend — the numbers above show what regular play really adds up to.
Invest the money instead?
If you put the same money into an investment each month instead of playing, here's roughly what it could grow to — a very different kind of "jackpot".
| Years | Projected pot |
|---|---|
| 10 | £2,691 |
| 20 | £7,123 |
| 30 | £14,423 |
Illustrative only, not investment advice — growth is never guaranteed and real returns will differ.
How this is worked out
Your tickets per week are multiplied by the ticket price, then by 52 weeks and by the number of years you play, to give a lifetime spend. National Lottery Lotto costs £2 a line with jackpot odds of 1 in 45,057,474; EuroMillions costs £2.50 a line with jackpot odds of 1 in 139,838,160 — you can also enter a custom game and price. We also show an illustrative long-run expected return: across all players, the National Lottery and similar games typically pay out roughly 45–50p in prizes for every £1 staked (we use 47.5p as a midpoint). That's a statistical average, not something any individual actually experiences — in reality you either win a prize or you don't.