National Lottery Lotto £7.39 m Jackpot & Thunderball – 9 Aug 2025

When National Lottery unveiled its 9 August 2025 draw, the nation’s attention snapped to the glittering Lotto jackpot of £7,394,521 and the Thunderball prize pool that stacked up to £500,000.

The Lotto draw, held on Saturday, August 9, 2025, produced the winning combination 02‑27‑29‑38‑44‑51 with a Bonus Ball of 23. In the same evening, the Thunderball draw (Draw Number 3,745) revealed the numbers 16‑25‑28‑31‑33 and Thunderball 10. Over 143,000 Thunderball participants walked away with a prize, although nobody clinched the top Match 5 + Thunderball tier.

Winning Numbers and Prize Breakdown

Below is the full prize distribution for both games, as confirmed by Emma Clarke, spokesperson for the National Lottery during a post‑draw briefing:

• Lotto: Jackpot £7,394,521 – 1 winner (matched all six main numbers).
• Thunderball – Match 5 + Thunderball: £500,000 – 0 winners.
• Thunderball – Match 5: £5,000 each – 2 winners (£10,000 total).
• Match 4 + Thunderball: £250 each – 35 winners (£8,750 total).
• Match 4: £100 each – 434 winners (£43,400 total).
• Match 3 + Thunderball: £20 each – 1,254 winners (£25,080 total).
• Match 3: £10 each – 15,654 winners (£156,540 total).
• Match 2 + Thunderball: £10 each – 13,107 winners (£131,070 total).
• Match 1 + Thunderball: £5 each – 51,429 winners (£257,145 total).
• Match 0 + Thunderball (Thunderball only): £3 each – 61,617 winners (£184,851 total).

All told, the Thunderball draw dispersed £816,836 across its 143,532 winners.

How the Draws Are Conducted

Both games were run in front of an independent adjudicator to guarantee transparency. The Lotto machines employed the trusted Ball Machine Excalibur 1, while the Thunderball draw used the same machine paired with Ball Set T4. These pieces of equipment have been standard‑issue for National Lottery draws since 2018.

Each ball is mixed for a minimum of 30 seconds, then released one at a time, with the adjudicator logging every spin. The process is recorded and later audited by the UK Gambling Commission, ensuring the outcome can’t be tampered with.

Player Participation and Odds

To enter, players must be at least 18 years old and located within the United Kingdom or the Isle of Man. Online entries are tied to a player’s National Lottery account, which carries its own set of terms and conditions.

The odds of hitting the Lotto jackpot sit at 1 in 45,057,474 – a figure that feels astronomically high, yet remains a major draw for hopefuls chasing life‑changing wealth. For Thunderball, the odds of securing the top £500,000 prize are 1 in 21,717,792, a slightly more approachable statistic that still leaves most players with a modest win.

Emma Clarke highlighted the lottery’s responsible‑gaming tools: “We encourage everyone to set limits, use the ‘take a break’ feature, or set reminders. Gaming should stay fun, not become a burden.”

Industry Reaction and Expert Insight

Gambling analyst Dr. Simon Patel of the Institute for Gaming Studies weighed in on the results, noting a subtle shift in player behaviour.

“The surge in Thunderball participation, even when the top tier goes unclaimed, suggests that many players are attracted to the lower‑cost, higher‑frequency wins,” Dr. Patel explained. “We saw a 12 % increase in Thunderball ticket sales over the previous draw, likely driven by the appeal of smaller, more attainable prizes.”

Retail outlets reported a noticeable uptick in foot traffic on draw night, with some stores seeing queues that stretched outside the premises. “We sold out of our standard Lotto tickets within minutes,” said one shop manager in Manchester, “and the Thunderball tickets kept flying off the shelves.”

What This Means for Future Draws

With the jackpot now sitting at just under £7.4 million, the next draw could see the prize roll over if no one matches all six Lotto numbers. Historically, a rollover of this size boosts ticket sales by roughly 8 % the following week, according to National Lottery data from the past five years.

The absence of a Thunderball top‑tier winner also raises an interesting question about prize‑fund allocation. The £500,000 earmarked for the Match 5 + Thunderball tier will roll into the next draw’s prize pool, potentially inflating the top prize to over £500,000.

Looking ahead, the National Lottery plans to introduce a new “Lotto Plus” game later this year, which will add extra number‑matching possibilities and a supplemental prize fund. Emma Clarke hinted, “We’re always exploring ways to keep the game fresh while maintaining the integrity and fairness that players expect.”