National Lottery ticket price doubles to £2

Undated handout photo issued by the National Lottery of giant 26 foot Lotto balls floating down the Thames to celebrate new Lotto which launches this Saturday October 5th with a £10m jackpot and 1,000 guaranteed winners of £20k. Equivalent to the height of two double decker buses, the balls set sail from Londonís Docklands into the heart of the City, passing under the iconic Tower Bridge

Oliver Dixon/National Lottery/PA

Pa3 October 2013

Lotto tickets have doubled in price to £2 from today.

The increase in the price of a ticket is the first since the National Lottery was introduced in 1994.

Operator Camelot has said the new system will also see winners given bigger prizes, with the payout for the average Saturday jackpot increasing from about £4.1 million to £5 million.

Those matching three numbers will now get a £25 payout, instead of £10, and the amount paid for four numbers rises from £60 to £100.

Some prize payouts are being reduced however, with the reward for matching five numbers dropping by £500 to £1,000, and that for five numbers and the bonus ball halving to £50,000.

Unique numbers printed on lottery players' tickets will be entered for a raffle with 50 prizes of £20,000 as of today.

Camelot is holding two £10 million jackpot draws to mark the launch of their new game.

The special draws, to be held on October 5 and 12, will also see 1,000 raffle ticket holders winning £20,000 on each occasion.

Camelot UK managing director Andy Duncan said the new Lotto will "give players more ways to win more money".