This is an editorial guide provided for information only. The figures below come from a genuine computer simulation built on each game’s exact published odds and prize structure — real draws will vary around these averages. fortunegames.com is not affiliated with the National Lottery or Allwyn; always check the official site for current rules and prizes.
We Simulated 100 Million Thunderball Tickets
We ran 100 million £1 Thunderball lines through a computer simulation using the game’s exact odds and its nine fixed prizes. The results: 8,078,293 winning tickets, ten £500,000 jackpots, and £51.7 million paid back from £100 million spent — a 51.7% return, quietly one of the most generous in the National Lottery family.
How the simulation worked
Every line was checked against a simulated draw of five main numbers from 39 plus a Thunderball from 14, with the nine fixed tiers from £3 to £500,000 applied exactly as published. Because Thunderball prizes never share and never roll over, the simulation mirrors the real game almost perfectly.
What the 100 million tickets won
| Match | Prize | Winning tickets |
|---|---|---|
| 5 + Thunderball | £500,000 | 10 |
| 5 | £5,000 | 164 |
| 4 + Thunderball | £250 | 2,132 |
| 4 | £100 | 27,254 |
| 3 + Thunderball | £20 | 69,610 |
| 3 | £10 | 904,547 |
| 2 + Thunderball | £10 | 743,574 |
| 1 + Thunderball | £5 | 2,878,921 |
| Thunderball only | £3 | 3,452,081 |
What that means per ticket
Roughly one line in every 12.4 won something — in line with the game’s published overall odds of about 1 in 13 — and the average return worked out at almost 52p per £1, comfortably ahead of Lotto’s fixed-tier figure. The Thunderball itself did most of the work: over 7 million of the 8.1 million wins involved it, including 3.45 million £3 saves from matching nothing else at all.
Ten jackpots — and a lesson about luck
The maths expected around twelve £500,000 winners in 100 million tickets; our run produced ten. Even at this enormous scale, chance is lumpy — which is exactly why a hot streak or a cold streak in real draws means nothing. Every ticket faced identical odds of 1 in 8,060,598 for the top prize.
Frequently asked questions
What does the average Thunderball ticket win back?
Almost 52p per £1 on average in our 100-million-ticket simulation — though four in five tickets won nothing.
How many Thunderball tickets win something?
About 1 in 12.4 in our run — 8,078,293 winners from 100 million lines.
How rare is the £500,000 jackpot?
1 in 8,060,598 per line — our 100 million tickets produced ten jackpot winners.
Is this a real simulation?
Yes — a genuine computer simulation using Thunderball’s exact odds and fixed prizes. Real draws vary around these averages.
Related guides: the Thunderball prize breakdown, Thunderball odds and 100 million Lotto tickets, simulated.