THE National Lottery is to introduce more numbers and bigger jackpots in sweeping changes to the game later this year that it says will create more individual millionaires – but statisticians have warned that winning the jackpot will become less likely. Lotto players will have to select their winning numbers from a pool of 59 – up from 49 – from October. National Lottery operator Camelot said that the “enhancements” would actually give players a better chance of winning, and better odds of becoming a millionaire.

But statisticians pointed out that the chance of matching all six balls would decrease from the current odds of one in 14million to one in 45million.

Camelot said a new Millionaire Raffle would guarantee at least one millionaire per draw, and that the chances of winning at least £1million would be better than the chances of winning the jackpot on the current game, with odds of about one in 10million. It also said that the average winning jackpot was expected to be triple the current level.

Players who match two numbers will win a Lucky Dip ticket for a future draw, which Camelot said would create an extra 1.8 million winners a week and increase the overall chance of winning any prize from one in 54 currently to one in 9.3.

The cost of playing will remain at £2 a line, and other prizes, such as £25 for matching three numbers, will also stay the same.

Statistician Robert Mastrodomenico said: “Whilst it may be the case that the new Millionaire Raffle will increase your chance to become a millionaire, moving from 49 to 59 balls makes it more unlikely to win the jackpot if we need to match all six balls.” He calculated that the chance of matching all six numbers from 59 balls would increase to precisely one in 45,057,474. “So, whilst the spin is that we will see more millionaires, the reality is that the chance of you winning the big one has become less likely,” he said.

Jackpots will become larger because they will be won less frequently.