Lotto ticket holders with five numbers in Wednesday’s draw were left frustrated after they won less money than those who matched only three.
Camelot said more than 4,000 players matched five of the six balls to win £15 each.
This was compared to the 7,879 ticket holders with four numbers who won £51, while the 114,232 people who matched just three balls won £25.
No one scooped Wednesday’s Lotto jackpot, sending Saturday’s prize to an estimated £28.2 million.
Some Lotto players vented their frustration on Twitter about the unusual situation, which can arise when there are a large number of lower prize winners because the minimum win is set at £25.
Leon Howell tweeted: “So getting 5 numbers in the national lottery tonight bagged you £15 but 3 numbers got you £25……thenationallotteryrobbery.”
Matt Needham wrote: “3 numbers tonight = £25. 5 numbers tonight = £15. The national lottery is an actual joke!!!!”
Conor King added: “Match 5 numbers with odds of over 1 in 144,000… Win £15. The UK lottery is officially a joke.”
The winning Lotto numbers were 14, 21, 42, 35, 07, 41 and the bonus number was 43.
Six ticket holders matched five of six balls and the bonus ball to scoop £10,016, while 4,082 players matched five of the six balls to win £15 each.
There were no jackpot winners in the Thunderball. The numbers were 33, 26, 27, 38, 23 and the Thunderball number was 13.
There were two jackpot winners in the Lotto HotPicks draw, each scooping £350,000.
A Camelot spokeswoman said: “We had an unprecedented 4,082 Match 5 winners last night.
“This is because five of the six main numbers drawn were multiples of seven – 07, 14, 21, 35 and 42 – and clearly this is a hugely popular set of numbers.
“To put it into context, the four Lotto draws before this one had 55, 36, 61 and 38 Match 5 winners – so over 4,000 Match 5 winners is extraordinarily high.
“It is a lottery at the end of the day, and the prizes people win are down to the balls drawn and the number of people who match with those numbers. As a result, we do sometimes see extremely rare situations like this.”