Lottery operators are hoping the promise of larger jackpots will offset the fact that they’re making those jackpots much harder to win.

Last month, UK lottery operator Camelot announced it was adding 10 more balls to the National Lottery’s existing 49 balls. In doing so, it has raised the odds of winning the jackpot from 14m-to-1 to 45m-to-1. (The odds of being struck by lightning in the UK are a mere 3m-to-1.) The changes will take effect in October.

Camelot boss Andy Duncan claims the intent was to “keep the game fresh” but critics claim it’s a shameless ploy to get players to buy more tickets to boost their odds of winning. To smooth players’ ruffled feathers, Duncan says Camelot has added two new £1m raffles per week while players who match just two numbers will now win a lucky dip ticket for a future draw.

Similar changes are afoot for America’s multistate Powerball lottery. At present, players select five numbers from 59 numbered white balls while the sixth ball – the titular Powerball – is drawn from a set of 35 red balls. Come Oct. 4, 10 balls will be added to the 59 while the number of red balls will fall to 26.