Thunderball relaunches with 39 balls and a £500,000 top prize, May 2010

Camelot launched Thunderball on Saturday 12 June 1999 as a second National Lottery draw. For its first few years it ran once a week. A Wednesday draw was added on 23 October 2002, alongside the Saturday one.

A major overhaul came in May 2010. From 12 May the pool of main numbers rose from 34 to 39, the top prize doubled from £250,000 to £500,000, and a new £3 prize was paid for matching the Thunderball on its own. A Friday draw started two days later, on 14 May. Former EastEnders actor Tamzin Outhwaite helped launch the new-look game.

The game also moved to newer Smartplay Halogen II draw machines around this time. The Thunderball machines carry the name Excalibur, after King Arthur's sword.

A Tuesday draw followed on 30 January 2018, giving Thunderball four draws a week. Every Thunderball prize is a fixed amount rather than a share of a pool.

Sources

• Lottery.co.uk (lottery.co.uk)
• The Grocer (thegrocer.co.uk)
• Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)