March 9th 2024.
Attention all lottery scratchcard players! There has been a major change in the way prizes are paid out. If you happen to win between £500 and £50,000 on your scratchcard, listen up because there is a new process in place for claiming your winnings. This change came into effect after Allwyn took over from Camelot as the operator of the lottery. Previously, Post Office branches were able to pay out prize cheques, but as of February 1st, this is no longer the case.
So, what is the new process for claiming your Lotto scratchcard prize? Well, since the change last month, Allwyn now requires winners to fill out an online claim form. This form must include your name, email address, serial and ticket numbers, as well as images of both the front and back of your winning scratchcard. If you happen to be a non-UK resident, you will need to call Allwyn to arrange an in-person meeting to claim your prize money. Once the numbers have been verified, you will need to send your ticket by post for inspection.
If for any reason you are unable to use the online claim form, don't worry. You can still fill out a paper prize claim form and post it to the National Lottery. Just remember, scratchcard prizes must be claimed within 180 days from the closure date, which you can find listed for each game on their website. However, since the new rules have been put in place, some winners have had to wait up to a month to receive their prize money, according to The Sun.
Take retired builder John Farrugia, for example. The 69-year-old has been having trouble claiming his £800 scratchcard win. He says that every time he calls to redeem his prize, he gets passed around to different departments and is unable to get the money he rightfully won. But don't worry, John, you are not alone. Many other winners have faced similar issues.
In response to these delays, a spokesperson for Allwyn has stated that this is a new claims process put in place after the Post Office decided to stop paying out prizes between £500.01 and £50,000. They apologize for any inconvenience and assure players that they are working to increase staff to help with claims and get prizes paid out more quickly. And just a reminder, prizes up to £500 can still be claimed in-store. So don't give up, your winnings will be yours soon enough.
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