National Lottery players will face a temporary disruption in ticket purchases and prize claims from Saturday night to Monday morning due to a significant system upgrade. Allwyn, the entity running the National Lottery, has announced that the pause will commence at 11 pm on Saturday after the Lotto and Thunderball draws and will continue until late Monday morning.
During this period, both the National Lottery website and app, as well as retail outlets, will be affected, preventing the purchase of National Lottery tickets at local stores. However, scratchcards will still be available for purchase. National Lottery results can still be checked before the system goes offline. According to Allwyn, this system upgrade will be the most extensive since the National Lottery’s inception in 1994, following a significant delivery rule change by Royal Mail.
Some of the upcoming changes include a revamped appearance for The National Lottery in 43,500 UK shops and the direct transfer of retail prizes to players’ bank accounts. Previously, these prizes were disbursed via checks. Winners will now be required to complete an online claim form and upload an image of their winning ticket to receive further instructions via email for submitting their bank account details.
New gameplay options will include home delivery services and utilizing Aldi self-checkouts. Additionally, over 200 new instant games will be introduced. Andria Vidler, the CEO of Allwyn, expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming changes, emphasizing the transformation of The National Lottery to better serve the UK population and increase its positive impact on society.
Allwyn took over the National Lottery operations from Camelot in 2024, with Camelot having managed the game since its UK launch in 1994. Allwyn Entertainment, owned by Czech energy billionaire Karel Komarek, operates across Europe in countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy.