Increased player protections coming, players asked to plan ahead

By Kate Northrop

The UK National Lottery is bringing its website and app offline this weekend to implement the "most significant improvements" in its digital platform upgrades.

UK lottery players are encouraged to plan around the expected National Lottery website and app outage this weekend as the Lottery completes another major step toward its modernization efforts.

Starting 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24 following all scheduled drawings, the National Lottery will shut down its app and website, with an anticipated return to full functionality by the end of the day on Sunday, Jan. 25.

"These are the most significant improvements since 2009 and will lay the foundations for us to deliver a better experience for you in the months and years ahead," the Lottery said in an announcement.

This is the latest planned outage since the massive 36-hour technology upgrade in August 2025.

Players will be unable to log into their accounts, purchase tickets, or play Instant Win games on the app or website during this time, nor will it be possible to see or claim any prizes online. Any draws a player has entered in advance will be shown in their account when the Lottery is back online.

It will still be possible to buy both draw and scratch-off tickets in person at brick-and-mortar retailers, and prizes from tickets purchased in-store can be claimed at retailers, up to £100 or £500 at the retailer's discretion. Prizes purchased online cannot be claimed at a retailer.

The Lottery's contact center will still be open, but Lottery staff will be unable to process any claims at the usual pace and might not have the ability to solve all inquiries right away while the technology upgrades are ongoing, the Lottery said.

The planned upgrades this weekend are part of a multi-year effort to revitalize the Lottery's player-facing experience. When players return to the website, they should notice "a few" changes, including a new payment screen, an "even simpler" way to play games and claim prizes, and new mandatory safety limits.

Allwyn Entertainment, the operator of the National Lottery, said that it will be implementing a personal deposit and spend limit for all new customers, automatic logouts after 60 minutes with a 10-minute cool-down period, and 20-minute "reality checks" for instant game players.

There will also be a series of videos and FAQs to guide players through the changes, although the overall goal is to keep "the experience familiar for existing players."

"These much-needed digital upgrades mark another milestone in our transformation to make The National Lottery more player-focused, with new games, more winners, and greater support for Good Causes," Allwyn CEO Andria Vidler said in a statement. "This is just the beginning of an exciting year for Allwyn and The National Lottery, as we work towards our ambitious goal to double weekly returns to Good Causes from £30 million a week at the start of the license to £60 million by 2034."