National Lottery players will experience a temporary disruption in ticket purchases and prize claims starting this Saturday evening until Monday morning. Allwyn, the operator of the National Lottery, has announced that the system upgrade 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 players from buying tickets at local shops. However, scratchcards will still be available for purchase. Players can continue to check National Lottery results until the system goes offline. This upgrade is said to be the most significant since the National Lottery’s inception in 1994.
Following a recent move by Royal Mail affecting millions of UK homes, Allwyn’s system upgrade includes a redesigned appearance for the National Lottery in over 43,500 UK shops and the introduction of direct payments for retail prizes into players’ bank accounts, eliminating the need for cheques.
Winners will be required to complete an online claim form and upload an image of their winning ticket to receive their prize. Additionally, new playing options will be introduced, such as home delivery and utilizing Aldi self-checkouts, along with the launch of over 200 new instant games.
Allwyn’s CEO, Andria Vidler, emphasized that the upgrade is a rare chance to enhance the National Lottery experience for UK players. The changes aim to provide new games, enhance player engagement, and double contributions to Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million weekly within the 10-year license period.
Allwyn took over the National Lottery operation from Camelot in 2024. Allwyn Entertainment, owned by Czech energy billionaire Karel Komarek, operates in various European countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy.