Thunderball & Lotto Results: 102,283 Winners, £5 M Jackpot – Sep 24 2025

When National Lottery rolled out its Wednesday night draws on September 24, 2025, the mood in Watford, Hertfordshire was electric. The Thunderball draw 3771 kicked off at roughly 20:00 UTC, followed minutes later by the classic Lotto draw, each under the watchful eye of an independent adjudicator to guarantee fairness.

What Happened Tonight

Here’s the thing: the Thunderball machine, dubbed Excalibur 2 and loaded with ball set T3, spat out the sequence 1, 6, 24, 36, 37 and a Thunderball of 5. A few breaths later, the Lotto draw announced 3, 16, 23, 30, 38, 47 with a bonus ball of 25. The Lotto jackpot sat at an estimated £5,000,000, still rolling over from previous draws.

How the Numbers Were Drawn

Turns out the process is more theatrical than you might think. The Excalibur 2 draw machine, a trusted workhorse of the Lottery’s live draws, mixes the balls in a transparent sphere before a set of mechanical arms releases each one. The entire sequence is streamed live on the official National Lottery YouTube channel, where the announcer’s voice guides viewers through each number.

"Welcome to tonight’s live National Lottery draw…" the announcer began for Thunderball, crisply reciting each digit before confirming the Thunderball number. A similar script followed for Lotto, ending with a reminder to check tickets on the app.

Prize Breakdown and Winners

Oddly enough, the top Thunderball prize of £500,000 went unclaimed – zero ticket matched all five main numbers plus the Thunderball. Still, the game handed out £544,004 across nine categories to a whopping 102,283 lucky participants. Here’s the quick rundown:

• Match 5 (no Thunderball): 3 winners – £5,000 each (£15,000 total)
• Match 4 + Thunderball: 19 winners – £250 each (£4,750 total)
• Match 4: 281 winners – £100 each (£28,100 total)
• Match 3 + Thunderball: 604 winners – £20 each (£12,080 total)
• Match 3: 8,058 winners – £10 each (£80,580 total)
• Match 2 + Thunderball: 7,668 winners – £10 each (£76,680 total)
• Match 1 + Thunderball: 34,932 winners – £5 each (£174,660 total)
• Match 0 + Thunderball: 50,718 winners – £3 each (£152,154 total)

The Lotto side still carries that £5 million jackpot, ready for a lucky ticket to claim it in the next draw.

Regulatory Oversight and Responsible Gaming

The draws are supervised by the National Lottery Commission, which enforces the Games Rules and Procedures. Players must be at least 18 and physically located in the UK or the Isle of Man. The organisation also pushes a responsible‑gaming mantra – “Dream Big Play Small” – and offers a Healthy Play Toolkit for setting limits or taking a break.

Every result is archived on the official website and mirrored on lottery.co.uk, with URLs like Thunderball results page and Lotto results page. The YouTube videos, posted at 0:01:49 and 0:01:46 respectively, serve as a public record.

What This Means for Players

For the average player, the sheer volume of winners—over a hundred thousand—highlights just how many small wins are bundled into a Thunderball draw. While the headline jackpot grabs attention, the real cash flow often comes from the lower‑tier prizes that keep the game alive for casual participants.

But wait, the unclaimed £500,000 top prize could roll over into the next Thunderball jackpot, nudging it higher and potentially attracting more ticket sales. That’s the lottery’s built‑in engine for excitement.

Looking Ahead to Future Draws

The next Thunderball draw is slated for the following Wednesday, accessible via the official play page. Lotto’s next draw follows the same weekly rhythm, with tickets purchasable through the dedicated Lotto portal. Both require physical presence in the UK, reinforcing the geographical limits set by the Commission.

Experts say the steady flow of mid‑tier wins helps sustain the lottery’s “good cause” funding, which recently spotlighted a project for deaf‑blind women during International Week of the Deaf. As long as the public keeps buying tickets, that charitable stream won’t run dry.