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GAME GUIDE

How to play Thunderball: the £1 game with a £500,000 top prize

Draw days, prizes and odds for Thunderball, including why you can win with no main numbers at all.

Updated 23 September 2026 · Checked against official sources

Thunderball in 30 seconds

  • Pick 5 main numbers from 1 to 39 and 1 Thunderball from 1 to 14, or choose a Lucky Dip.
  • Each line costs £1.
  • Draws are on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
  • Draws are shown at 8pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, and 8:15pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
  • Buy before 7:30pm to play on the day of a draw.

What you can win

Thunderball prizes are fixed, so the top prize is always £500,000 rather than a rolling jackpot.

Thunderball prizes and odds per line
MatchPrizeOdds
5 + Thunderball£500,0001 in 8,060,598
5£5,0001 in 620,046
4 + Thunderball£2501 in 47,415
4£1001 in 3,647
3 + Thunderball£201 in 1,437
3£101 in 111
2 + Thunderball£101 in 135
1 + Thunderball£51 in 35
Thunderball only£31 in 29

Your chance of winning any prize is about 1 in 12 per line. Matching just the Thunderball wins £3, so always check it even if none of your main numbers came up.

Checking results

Official results are published from around 9:30pm on draw nights. Our Thunderball page shows the latest draw and updates automatically.

Questions people ask

How much does Thunderball cost?

£1 per line.

What is the top prize on Thunderball?

£500,000 for matching all 5 main numbers and the Thunderball.

Can you win with just the Thunderball?

Yes. Matching only the Thunderball wins £3.

See the latest numbers and the next jackpot.

Latest results

Sources

We check every guide against the operators’ own pages. Rules and prizes can change, so the official operator always has the final word.

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