What Is The UK Lotto 'Must-Be-Won' Draw?

The UK National Lottery has an exciting draw coming up, a 'must-be-won' draw where it is guaranteed that someone will win the jackpot!

A 'must-be-won' draw happens when nobody has matched all the lucky numbers to win the UK Lotto jackpot in the last five draws. The sixth draw will be a 'must-be-won' draw, and someone will win the jackpot even if they do not match all the lucky numbers.

If nobody matches all the numbers in the sixth draw, the jackpot will go toward all the players who match the most numbers. This is also known as a 'rolldown'

Prize Tier	Percentage of Jackpot	Regular Fixed Prizes	*Rolldown Prizes (16/07/2022)
Match 5 + Bonus	3%	£1 million	£1,000,000
Match 5	5%	£1,750	£5,421
Match 4	7%	£140	£211
Match 3	85%	£30	£65
Match 2	-	Free Lucky Dip	£5 + Free Lucky Dip

History of the Rolldown and Jackpot Cap

Must-be-won draws have been a part of the UK Lotto since game was launched in 1994, but the rules have changed a few times. Previously, UK Lotto roll down draws would see the jackpot split between only the next tier of prize winners.

The jackpot cap used to be £22 million before new rules were announced. The top prize could then roll one more time after it had reached this mark, before it had to be won in the following draw. If no one matched all six main numbers, the jackpot would be split between the players who matched the next most amount of lucky numbers.

In the draw on 27th December 2017, for example, a player won £24.5 million by matching just five main numbers plus the Bonus Ball. This was because the jackpot had to be won, and there were no Match 6 winners. Had it not been for this participant, the money would have been split between everyone in the Match 5 tier.