The National Lottery's website and mobile apps will be unavailable for approximately 24 hours this weekend due to scheduled maintenance. The outage begins at 11pm on Saturday, January 24, and continues through Sunday, as operator Allwyn carries out a major system enhancement.
Players can log in and buy tickets online until 11pm on Saturday, with Lotto and Thunderball draws proceeding as usual at 8pm that evening. During the downtime, tickets can still be purchased at retail outlets across the UK. Draw results and prize information will be available on YouTube and at 43,500 retail partners.
Allwyn says users will notice several changes when services resume, including an updated payment interface. The company promises that checking results, playing games, and collecting winnings will become 'even simpler', with instructional videos and FAQs to help players navigate the updates.
New features include compulsory personal deposit and spending limits for all new customers, automatic sign-outs after 60 minutes with a 10-minute cooling-off period, and regular 20-minute 'reality checks' for instant game participants. The upgrade also migrates 11.8 million active accounts to a new system.
Allwyn chief executive Andria Vidler said: '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.' She added that the company aims to double weekly returns to Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million by 2034.
