The national lottery organisation Staatsloterij is under fire from consumers for secretly lowering the chances of winning a prize.

The total prize pot has been redivided up from this month and some small prizes have been dropped. The consumers’  association Consumentenbond claims nearly all prizes of under €100 have gone.

This means the chance of winning a prize has dropped from 51.9% to 50.1% and that should have been made clear to people who play the lottery, the Consumentenbond says.

This should have been done in the form of an advert or an email to players, the organisation says.

The lottery organisation has dismissed the claims, saying the changes have been made clear on its website. It says the change means there are more prizes of between €100 and €1,000 to be won.