FURIOUS National Lottery players have erupted in anger over a “shambolic” new app launched this week, with hundreds branding it “disastrously glitchy” days after going live.
The rejigged Lotto app launched on Sunday evening, but by Thursday users were still reporting widespread problems, including being unable to log in at all.
The backlash comes despite operator Allwyn, a Czech gaming company that took control of the National Lottery in 2024, pledging £2350 million to modernise lottery technology.
Instead, social media has been flooded with complaints, with users describing the upgrade as a “complete disaster” and repeatedly asking why a system that “worked perfectly well” was changed.
Sally Hynes summed up the mood succinctly: “Why fix what isn’t broken?”
The launch was billed by Allwyn as a “milestone in our transformation to make The National Lottery more player-focused”.
However, the company’s first major tech rollout since taking ownership infuriated hundreds of players who have taken to X and Facebook to vent their rage.
Ongoing issues range from faulty geolocation software wrongly blocking UK users, to multiple identical emails cancelling debit cards, to the disappearance of old winnings and ticket histories.
Peter Cunningham, 68, from Glasgow, who has played the lottery since it launched in 1994, branded the update “catastrophic”.
“I logged in on Monday and was told I wasn’t living in the UK,” he said.
“Clearly the update has not gone to plan, and there’s almost no help being offered on social media.”
While the location issue was resolved later that day, Peter says he still cannot reduce his daily spend limit on instant win games to zero – something he says “would be a serious issue if I had a gambling addiction”.
He also claims normal customer service channels appear overwhelmed. “It’s usually a 24-hour turnaround. It’s now been three days and I’ve had no reply.”
“I feel the update went horribly wrong and they’re in denial,” he added.
“Allwyn have a lot to answer for as custodians of the National Lottery, especially after all the self-hype about improving things.”
Peter also warned the debacle could have a knock-on effect on funds raised for good causes.
Under the leadership of Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, Allwyn donated just £1.8 billion to good causes last year, less than two thirds of its £3.1 billion target.
The glitches have not been confined to the app. Other users report similar experiences. Rhys Jones said the updated website sent him 41 debit card expiry notifications.
Stuart Lunn waited over an hour on hold after the app took payment without crediting his account, suggesting Allwyn should invest some of it’s “massive profits” in “fit-for-purpose customer service”.
Accessibility concerns have also emerged. Helen Usmar wrote on social media that the app is now “far worse for visually impaired people” after losing its zoom function, calling the update “shameful”.
She also described payout processes since Camelot lost the contract as a “nightmare”, citing deleted win notifications, multi-draw tickets appearing out of order and confusing navigation.
David Craggs called the redesign “the worst update I’ve ever seen”, saying tickets are ordered bottom-up by purchase time, making the app “like a maze”.
Simon Gowers, 55, an Electrician from Burnley, who has played Lotto and EuroMillions for 15 years in memory of his late father, said the redesign defies logic.
“The old app was smooth sailing and tickets were ordered logically,” he said. “Now some imbecile has ordered games by day, with pending games appearing as if they haven’t been played.”
“Did management just leave a 16-year-old school leaver to it while they all went to the pub?,” because “no web design guru” could have been responsible.
Many users report being locked out of the app for hours while their money is effectively held “ransom”.
Customer service teams are described as “swamped”, with responses taking days and often consisting of generic batch emails that fail to address specific issues.
Allwyn’s public response has been limited to bland corporate statements apologising for the inconvenience and saying “some players may be experiencing intermittent issues”.
That message was issued on Tuesday. By Thursday, reports of further outages were again flooding social media.
The company told GN News: “A spokesman for Allwyn said: “These much-needed digital upgrades mark another milestone in our transformation to make The National Lottery more player-focused, and this is just the beginning of an exciting year for Allwyn and The National Lottery.”
The Sun has approached Allwyn for comment.
