PUNTERS FURY AFTER LOTTO WINS DRY UP

Kick in the balls for angry Brits

NATIONAL Lottery chiefs are under pressure to drop the number of balls – after punters who matched five in the last three draws scooped just £330,000.

Punters have deserted Camelot’s Lotto since bosses added 10 more balls into the pot, sending odds of hitting the jackpot to a sickening 1-in-45 million.

Players now receive tiny sums for matching five balls and the bonus ball. Ten years ago in a draw boasting an £8.4m jackpot, the prize fund for five numbers and the bonus ball was £1m.

But on Saturday, one punter won just £78,147 for picking five numbers and the bonus, while 36 players shared £82,260 for getting five numbers.

In the previous draw, two players shared £45,592 for matching five numbers and the bonus and 78 people won just £615 each for getting five. And in the draw before that, the top prize went to people who had five balls as noone managed to match five numbers plus the bonus.

The 67 players shared a pot of £78,725 meaning they won just £1,175 each.

Camelot made the change to the number of balls as they hoped bigger rolled-over jackpots would attract more customers to the game.

But frustrated players have slammed constant rollovers, with the main prize not won for three draws.

Players have moaned on internet forums about their reduced chances of landing ® big wins. Sandra Leonard and Joyce Fell, from Exeter, were devastated after learning how little they had won for five numbers.

Sandra said: “I think this is very poor. To win just £500 is rubbish. This seems to be a trend now.”

Camelot has launched a review of its strategy following an 8.8% drop in ticket sales to £6.92bn in the past year. Camelot chairman Jo Taylor said: “Sales in 2016/17 fell short of where we’d like them.

“There’s clearly work to be done to re-engage players. “Given the current climate of increasing competition from the gambling sector, we expect 2017/18 to be equally, if not more, challenging.

“It will therefore take time to turn things around.

“I am, however, confident that the review will enable us to put the business on the best possible footing to get back into growth.”