by Anyone who buys a lottery scratch card dreams of winning big – but a big change means if you’re lucky, you’ll have to follow a new process to get your hands on your money.
The change to how some prizes are paid out comes after Allwyn took over as operator of the National Lottery from Camelot.
Last month the new operator revealed that around 900 post offices across the UK will no longer sell draw tickets and scratch cards as part of the new 10-year licence. Now, it has also emerged that scratch card players who win between £500.01 and £50,000 will no longer be able to get their prize checks paid at the Post Office.
Instead, they will have to follow a new process. But some winners were reportedly left waiting for up to a month to claim their prizes.
A spokesman for Allwyn said they had implemented a new claims process following the Post Office’s decision to no longer pay retail National Lottery prizes between £500.01 and £50,000, prompting a high number of players to contact them.
“We apologize for any delay and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their claims, helping them to receive their prizes faster,” he said. “We would like to reassure any affected players that they will receive their prizes and remind them that prizes of up to £500 can still be paid out in store.”
Why has the system changed?
When Allwyn took over the license from Camelot on February 1, it involved a number of changes, including how the Post Office operates the lottery after the Post Office decided last year to end its group contract with the National Lottery.
Post Office branch managers were given the choice on an individual basis to register to sell the products or not.
Last month Allwyn said around 900 post offices across the UK – almost a fifth (19%) of the 4,800-strong post office network that previously sold National Lottery products – had not signed up to continue and as so they would no longer sell raffle tickets and scratch cards. under the new 10-year licence.
Lottery retailers cannot sell tickets for lotteries without also selling scratch cards, under the retail agreement with Allwyn.
Post Office Limited levies a processing fee on all National Lottery transactions, which is understood to be around 1%. They said the decision to end the central contract was made in response to requests from postmasters, as it allowed them to receive all the sales commission, in line with other lottery retailers.
Allwyn said more than 600 postmasters chose not to sign up, citing reasons including religious beliefs or low lottery sales. He claimed that up to 200 submasters were unable to register as lottery retailers because of county court judgments, although these could be linked to the owner of the shop or the shop where the post office is based.
But the National Federation of Postmasters (NFSP) said many post offices had chosen to stop selling lottery products because of the cost of buying scratch cards.
Previously Post Office Limited covered the cost of buying scratch cards for each postmaster, but under individual retailer contracts they must buy the stock themselves. This meant that if they did not sell enough scratch cards, they could lose thousands of pounds in unsold stock.
NFSP chief executive Calum Greenhow said retailers need to sell around £400 worth of scratch cards a week to break even. Greenhow, who runs the Post Office in Scotland with his wife, said: “We would have ended up in a situation where we would have lost a significant amount of money. We would still be selling (lottery tickets) otherwise.” t for the scratch cards.”
Allwyn said a total of 98.5% of its 23,000 independent retailers had signed up to sell lottery products under the fourth licence.
It had about 40,000 retail partners in total, the rest being large supermarkets and retail chains, which said they were all signing up.
How do you claim your scratch card prize now?
Previously if you won on a scratch card you could claim prize checks from your local post office branch.
But now, if your scratch card wins are between £500.01 and £50,000 you will need to fill in an online claim form to start the payment process, including your own and ticket details, as well as images of the scratch card.
Non-UK resident winners must call Allwyn to arrange a meeting in person to claim the money, while those unable to use the online form will need to complete and post a paper form.
Once the winning numbers have been verified, winners must mail the ticket for inspection.
How much time do you have to claim your scratch card prize?
Scratchcard prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw closing date.
According to the rules for claiming a prize on the National Lottery website, if a prize is not claimed within 180 days, you will lose it. It says: “Your entitlement to a Prize will be forfeited (and the Prize will not be paid) if a Prize is not claimed within the Claim Period.”
