I do 2 'lucky dip' lotto numbers each week on line. During the last 12 months I have had 5 'wins' (only £10 a time) so my costs arnt covered but like an idiot I just carry on hoping that one day........................... it might be more than just the £10 
Once the price goes up I may well  rethink my purchases 

I'll keep playing until they put it up (in the autumn apparently). I've played it since day one and have won a few tenners and a couple of £50ish wins - i was hoping to get back the money i've paid in one day.... oh well !

Still, about 6 months to go yet - there's still time !

Read above posts with some interest.

For those who are giving up their pound (or more) per week, can I suggest spending that pound doing a line on the Football Pools?

The National Lottery destroyed the Pools industry in the 90s with many jobs being lost. There are still several hundred still employed in Liverpool and Im sure they would gladly appeciate some support.

Re Lanky Giraffe's post I don't think the lottery destroyed the pools
industry, the pools were complicated to play with bankers and lit-plans
and coupons were almost incomprehensible to non-players, 1,2 x etc.
Also they were usually collected by agents or sent by post, a cumbersome
system, they should have adopted the system used in Europe where
you just picked numbers like the lottery at a shop or kiosk.

Also the bookies brought out a wide range of betting on football including
fixed odds and single bets.

By the way I have won the lottery twice in the past month,£92 and £10
last Saturday. When I went to the shop yesterday to collect my winnings
the woman put the ticket through the machine and confirmed I had won £10.

She then asked "Do you want it in cash?"
I felt like saying "I'll take it in negotiable bonds"

I accept the Pools may have been complicated to play to non players etc, but the fact is that the National Lottery did have a  massive detrimental effect on Pools industry.

The first year after the launch of lottery, Littlwoods sales were down 27%.

Also, the lottery had an  unfair advantage by having to pay less betting duty, had opportunity to advertise on telly and had universal distribution whereby pools had restricted rail presence.

By the time the playing field was level ( pardon the pun) the Lottery had taken half of the pools business.

Other forms of gambling have had an impact, never so much as the lottery though .

Oh, and congrats on your recent wins.

Lanky

I think it is wonderful how Lotteries in the UK donate money to Preserved Railways and Charities  here in Oz anything left over from Lotto goes to the Government 

Thanks for congrats , Lanky.I note your points regarding the
disadvantageous duty and advertising restrictions imposed
on the pools industry. Years ago I did Vernons and had a standing
order for 8-10 weeks, and won approx £1,100 one time.

When the lottery started I switched because it was more
convenient and I could do as many , as few or no entries each
week as I wished.

Possibly the more "Show Biz" style of the lottery has helped it
as the draws are done in bingo style as opposed to watching the
football results coming up at 4.45 on a Saturday afternoon.

Also possibly the lottery is more attractive to women. In an
office I worked in one person was a Littlewoods collector
and of the 15-20 coupons he collected about 2-3 were
from women , who got colleagues to fill them out for them

In another office which had a lottery syndicate about 70 %
of the 35-40 members were women.

Perhaps this is significant, perhaps not.

Cheers

Not just women - there are some of us men with no knowledge of or interest in football whatsoever!  (Or, in my case, any sport at all, but I realise that part probably puts me firmly in the statistical outliers...)

Hello T-P, it was (is) perfectly easy to win the pools knowing nothing about football
and many big winners were as such , however the coupons themselves were offputting
with their tiny squares , columns and complex sections.  I know many men who are not
interested in football, and other sport. I myself am completely uninterested in rugby
and American football and can put up with Wimbledon once a year.

And don't even mention pro darts!

Any Lottery or Pools or whatever is exactly what is says on the tin - a lottery ie. a game of chance/luck and no knowledge is a prerequisite. It may or may not help to know a bit about any game being gambled on but so often the 'formbook' goes out of the window
Whichever way you prefer, it's all a stab in the dark and a pure fluke if you win. Good luck though, and please remember when you signed up the forum is entitled to 10% of any winnings

NN - If   I had been the couple in Largs (Not far from where I live) who won
the Euro Lottery the forum would be better of by £16M ..., with the change
left over I'd buy one of those Silver Link limited editions on Ebay.....