The Thunderball
is a game played on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. It is played just after the main UK lotto, although they are games that can be participated in separately. However the prize fund for the Thunderball is significantly less than the jackpot of the UK lotto, the odds of winning are increased by more than three and a half times.
To play this game you will need to select 5 numbers between 1 and 39, followed by a bonus ball known as the Thunderball number from between 1 and 14. If you don’t want to, or don’t have the time to pick numbers, then the player can take advantage of the Lucky Dip in which the numbers are randomly selected. Thunderball shares a feature with the UK lotto in that it is possible to repeatedly play the same numbers so several consecutive draws.
There are 9 different ways of winning on the Thunderball, but to win the grand prize of £500,000 you need to match all 5 numbers plus the Thunderball number. The other prizes are listed below:
| Ways to win | Prize money (£) | Odds of success |
| Match 5 main numbers + Thunderball | 500,000 | 1 in 3,895,584 |
| Match 5 main numbers | 5,000 | 1 in 299,660 |
| Match 4 main numbers + Thunderball | 250 | 1 in 26,866 |
| Match 4 main numbers | 100 | 1 in 2,066 |
| Match 3 main numbers + Thunderball | 20 | 1 in 959 |
| Match 3 main numbers | 10 | 1 in 74 |
| Match 2 main numbers + Thunderball | 10 | 1 in 106 |
| Match 1 main number + Thunderball | 5 | 1 in 18 |
| Match the Thunderball | 3 | 1 in 13 |
In the main UK lotto, as well as most other lottery games, if there are multiple winners they would have to share the jackpot. However for the Thunderball, there can be multiple winners and they will all (for the most part) win the £500,000. The addition of the many subsequent prizes makes the Thunderball a very attractive game to play.