Being new to the UK Lottery is no excuse for not playing. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the games and lottery terminology, and you'll soon be on your way to playing.



For starters, if you want to play online you can play, EuroMillions, Lotto and Dream Number and a selection of instant win games.

EuroMillions consistently offers huge jackpots thanks to the participation of nine European countries. Jackpots usually start at 9 million and grow as the jackpot goes unclaimed. You play by selecting five main numbers, 1-50, and 2 Lucky Star numbers, 1-9. You can play up to four lines on a single play slip or up to five slips with multiple tickets. You can play the same numbers for as many as four weeks. All you have to do is match three numbers in the correct combination to win from one of the 12 prize levels. If you match the five main numbers and the two Lucky Star numbers you win (or share) the jackpot!

Tickets for EuroMillions are sold everyday until 11 p.m., and ticket sales close at 7:0 p.m. for the draw on Fridays. Watch for results on BBC One at 11:35 p.m. Fridays, or you can get results online around 10 p.m.

Lotto works similarly. You can enter your own numbers, 1-49, or, if you're playing online, you can choose "Lucky Dip" for a random number selection. Play as many as seven lines of numbers on one play slip or up to 35 lines on multiple tickets. You can select which draws and the number of weeks you wish to play. You can play as many as eight weeks starting with the next draw date. Winnings are based on the number of matches on your card.

You can also play Dream Number on your Lotto play slip or by itself. The Dream Number is a 7-digit number that gives you the chance to win up to 500,000. There are scores of Instant Win games including those based on Scrabble, Monopoly and those based on upcoming holidays and events. Prizes range from 8,000 to 100,000 and more. Playing is simple and winnings are, obviously, instant!

You can get even more comfortable with playing the lottery by learning some of the terms. Here are a few you'll need to know. Bearer instrument - Any item (including paper lottery tickets) that gives the person holding it the right of ownership. Regardless of who buys a paper lottery ticket, the person who has it in their possession can claim any prize it wins.

Bonus ball - A supplementary number drawn after the main numbers, as in the UK Lotto game. It doesn't affect the jackpot winner, but can help a ruuner-up win a larger prize. Lucky Dip - A random selection of lottery numbers provided by a random number generator (RNG). It is also known as a Quick Pick in some games.

RNG - Random number generator; software that generates numbers in a random pattern. Rollover - The term used to describe what happens to a jackpot fund when no player wins it. The amount is usually added to the fund for the next draw.