National Lottery to Shut Down for 36 Hours This Weekend for Major Technology Upgrade UK
Overview
The National Lottery will go offline for 36 hours this weekend in what operator Allwyn has described as the biggest technology upgrade in the lottery’s 31-year history.
From 11pm on Saturday, 2 August, after the Lotto and Thunderball draws, all draw-based game sales and prize claims in shops across the UK will be paused until late Monday morning (4 August).
The National Lottery website and mobile app will also be unavailable during this period.
Why is the National Lottery going offline?
Allwyn, the Czech-based group that took over the 10-year National Lottery licence from Camelot in 2024, said the shutdown is part of a once-in-a-generation technology upgrade to modernise systems that date back to 2009.
The switchover will include:
- Migrating gaming and retail systems to new platforms
- Upgrading in-store terminals
- Laying foundations for new draw-based games
Allwyn said some retail terminals may experience short delays returning to service if the upgrade processes are interrupted.
CEO Andria Vidler said:
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver The National Lottery that the UK deserves.
We’re making unprecedented and much-needed changes, which will allow us to bring new, exciting games, a better player experience and to double returns to Good Causes from £30m to £60m per week by the end of our 10-year licence.”
Can you still buy tickets?
Players are advised to buy tickets, check results and claim prizes before 11pm on Saturday.
During the outage:
- You cannot buy draw-based tickets in-store or online
- You cannot check results or claim prizes online or at retailers
- Scratchcards and Instant Win games will still be available
- Draw results will be posted to the National Lottery YouTube channel after the Saturday draws
The temporary shutdown follows delays in introducing new games, caused by a legal dispute with International Games Technology (IGT), the former supplier, which was only resolved after IGT dropped its court challenge against the Gambling Commission’s licence award.
Despite the disruption, Allwyn says the upgrade is vital to restore the “magic” of the National Lottery and increase its positive impact on UK communities.
This weekend’s National Lottery draws:
- Set For Life – Thursday, 31 July
- EuroMillions & EuroMillions Hotpicks – Friday, 1 August
- Thunderball – Friday, 1 August
- Lotto & Lotto Hotpicks – Saturday, 2 August
Players will be able to check results until the systems go offline late Saturday night.
