Allwyn Announce Change in Prize Claiming Rules for National Lottery
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Allwyn, the new UK National Lottery operator, has introduced a major change to the claiming process for winning prizes. The new procedure involves individuals who win £500.01 up to £50,000 from the national lottery. Winners of these prize ranges have to visit Post Office branches to get cheques for the sums.
However, winners are now required to verify their numbers online or over the phone before sending the ticket by post for inspection. The change was implemented due to the expiration of The National Lottery's central contract with the Post Office. The new process for claiming prizes also applies to prizes for all retail-purchased National Lottery games.
Winners Decry New Change
The change, however, is not readily welcomed by lotto scratchcard winners experiencing up to a one-month delay in collecting their winnings. One example is John Farrugia, 69, a retired builder who is waiting up to a month to receive his £800 winnings from two tickets.
“I’m being passed around departments when I call to try and redeem the money I won fair and square. For a lot of older people, it’s difficult.” He said.
In an official statement, Allwyn tendered an apology for the delay and assured winners that measures are being implemented to expedite the payout process. This is a new claims process following the Post Office's decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000.
As a result, we’re experiencing a high volume of players contacting us. We’re sorry for any delays and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their claims, which is helping them get their prizes more quickly. We’d like to reassure any affected players that they will receive their prizes and to remind them that prizes of up to £500 can still be paid out in-store.
National Lottery Changes Hands
Allwyn took over from Camelot last month as the National Lottery operator. This marked the first change in operator in the 30-year history of the National Lottery, which has been responsible for raising over £48 billion for good causes, benefiting various sectors such as arts, sport, heritage, and communities.
Last month, the operator acquired a 70% stake in online content provider Instant Win Gaming.
The deal will see Allwyn take over the control of the company, which reported £18.2 million ($22.9 million) in EBITDA in 2023.
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