National Lottery told me I won prize just before app and website went DOWN – now I’m blocked & unable to claim winnings
A MAN claims the National Lottery told him he had won a prize just before its app and website went down.
Lotto player Deano claimed he is unable to log in to claim his winnings.
Posting on Twitter, he said: “I take it nobody’s National Lottery app is working?
“Email saying I’ve won a prize, probably £2.70, but can’t log on in app or on website.”
Customers have complained of issues with their mobile apps and trouble accessing the website too.
The reports began at around 8pm yesterday evening, according to the outage website Downdetector.
Complaints hit a peak at 7am this morning, with more than 2,800 issues reported.
Those hoping to buy a ticket on the app or site for tonight’s draw were unable to.
But both the app and website are back up and running now.
Around 54% of the problems were related to the app, while 39% concerned the website.
Issues were registered across the country with hotspots located in Glasgow, Manchester and London.
Frustrated Lotto hopefuls took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to moan about the issues.
One said: “In other news, the national lottery app is down so you can’t check after getting an email saying you have won a prize.
“Guess I have to wait to find out I won a Lucky Dip.”
Another wrote: “Come on your app and website are down, this has been going on since 9pm last night.
“The fact it’s still not resolved after all this time is ridiculous.”
A third posted: “First it was showing ” your app can’t load for you” but this morning it tries to convince me that I am not connected to the internet – gaslighting me.”
A player was worried they may be due a big pay out, but couldn’t check: “Heading to work soon and might have won a million.”
Others queried if the issues were related to the Microsoft outage which hit first yesterday: “I see the National lottery site and app have been screwed too!! Crowdstuck?!”
Allwyn, which runs the National Lottery app and site, confirmed it was aware of the issue – which has since been resolved.
A spokesperson said: “Due to a technical issue, The National Lottery Website and Mobile Apps are currently unavailable.
“Our technical teams are working hard to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, players can visit one of our 40,000 National Lottery retailers to purchase their tickets and check results.
“If players have purchased tickets or have a subscription via The National Lottery website, we would like to reassure them that these are valid and have been entered into draws.”
The firm also apologised for any inconvenience caused.
It’s unclear if the Lotto app and site going down was related to the Microsoft outage which rocked the world yesterday.
It comes after a botched update from cyber firm CrowdStrike knocked Microsoft Windows computers offline around the world yesterday.
The meltdown caused dozens of flight and train cancellations across the UK and brought parts of the NHS to a standstill.
Experts warned that it could take weeks for systems to fully recover – with more flight delays and cancellations expected this weekend.
As a result, the tech outage left shoppers unable to make card payments across the UK.
Retailers and card providers were said to be experiencing problems in some stores.
Big supermarkets such as Morrisons and Co-op, pub giant Wetherspoons, and Metro Bank were affected.