News writer
In August, 43,500 National Lottery terminals in the UK will go dark for widespread upgrades. It's a massive temporary overhaul that affects retailers and players across the country.
This will happen just two weeks after an unscheduled blackout hit hundreds of retailers across the UK.
When are the upgrades?
According to Allwyn, the terminals will go offline starting at 11 p.m. UK time on Saturday, August 2. Stores will not be able to sell any National Lottery tickets from their terminals. Players won't be able to buy tickets online, log into their accounts, or claim prizes either - the National Lottery website will be shut down for repairs, too.
The UK National Lottery will be back online late morning on Monday, August 4.
However, players will be able to check results until Saturday, and will be able to buy scratchcards during the shutdown. They can also view Saturday's draw results on the National Lottery's YouTube channel.
What are the upgrades?
After the upgrade, around 8,000 stores will be operating new Wave terminals, which offer faster player transactions and other functions, according to Allwyn. The rest of the terminals will be upgraded with new software and later changed to Wave terminals.
Allwyn, the company that runs the National Lottery, stated:
The National Lottery will undergo its biggest technology upgrade since 1994, transforming core gaming and retail systems. This will involve launching new terminal software and moving systems to new platforms, as well as a number of other crucial back-end tech upgrades. The upgrades also include the delivery of 30+ new systems and complex data migrations, including the transfer of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions.
What are stores supposed to do?
Stores are supposed to keep their terminals online and running during the entire shut down in order to get the upgrades. If they don't, they will face major delays.
Retailers have been told to keep Scratchards in stock, since players can still purchase them throughout the shutdown. They will be permitted to log into their terminals before 10 a.m. on Sunday to access their weekly invoice, but beyond that, the terminals shouldn't be accessed until the shutdown is over.
It's unknown if there will be further delays after the shutdown due to technical problems.
Why the upgrades?
Allwyn recently took over from Camelot, which ran the National Lottery for 30 years. After experiencing a small dip in sales, Allwyn said it would invest 350 million pounds into the modernization of the National Lottery, which hasn't been upgraded significantly since 2009. Jenny Blogg, Allwyn's Director of Operations, explained:
While these significant updates will mean short-term disruption for players and our retail partners, they will allow us to deliver on our promise to bring new, exciting games to The National Lottery, a better player experience, and our commitment to double returns to good causes from £30m to £60m every week by the end of the 10-year licence.
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