THE National Lottery app went down across the UK, leaving thousands of users unable to access results or buy tickets.
Customers complained of issues with their mobile apps and trouble accessing the website too.
The National Lottery app went down across the UK
Users were hit with an error message when trying to get into the app
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.”
“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,” another queried.
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.
UK’s biggest lottery winners
By Ethan Singh
Anonymous winner – £195,707,000
A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
The holder, who remains anonymous to this day, amassed the fortune with just one lucky ticket.
Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184,262,899.10
Britain’s previous EuroMillions record holders were Joe and Jess Thwaite.
The couple won a record-breaking £184million jackpot in May 2022 and shared hopes of a Hawaiian holiday and a new horse box for their children’s ponies.
Joe bought his winning ticket online on May 10, 2022, and the following morning received an email with good news.
As he learnt of the huge win, he was in disbelief and initially kept it for himself as he did not want to disturb his wife, who was sleeping.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two children.
Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000
Colin and Christine Weir landed the colossal prize money in 2011 and were Europe’s second-biggest winners until someone in Italy won a jackpot worth £193m in 2019.
They splashed the cash at an astounding rate of £100,000 a week before tragedy struck.
But at the time of Colin’s death in December 2019 his share of the prize money had dwindled by around £40m.
He spent the millions living a life of luxury, forking out for sports cars, property and the football club he supported.
Colin and Christine divorced shortly before his death after being married for 38 years.
He left money for their children Carly and Jamie.
Adrian and Gillian Brayford – £148,600,000
Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.
But Adrian split from Gillian the following year because of the stress of the win.
The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021.
After divorcing in 2013, he failed to woo ex-sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz — but fell for stable girl Sam Burbidge.
She left him in 2017, taking 30 prize horses Adrian bought.
It might have worked out in the end for Adrian though as the former postman was seen smiling with ambulance worker Tracey Biles last year.
Frances and Patrick Connolly – £114,969,775
Former social worker and teacher Frances set up two charitable foundations after she and her husband hit the jackpot.
They scooped almost £115 million on New Year’s Day 2019.
She estimates that she has already given away £60 million to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.
Richard and Debbie Nuttall – £61,000,000
The couple from Colne, Lancashire, took home £61 million on January 30 2024.
Both 54, they were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
But they then discovered the big EuroMillions win.
Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account.
Other eye-watering anonymous winners:
2019 – £123million
Another anonymous winner scooped up a prize of £123,458,008 in the June Superdraw rollover.
2021 – £122million
Following nine rollovers, one ticketholder bagged the £122,550,350 jackpot last April.
The successful participant chose to remain anonymous.
2018 – £121million
Another anonymous winner found their fortune during the Superdraw jackpot rollover in April 2018, securing £121,328,187.
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.
Global services affected by IT outage
Trains
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – urged passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”
Gatwick Express – warned travellers they are “currently experiencing widespread IT issues”
South Western Railway – all ticket vending machines are currently non operational – buy tickets online
National Rail – some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice train cancellations
TransPennine Express – some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues – buy tickets online
New York City’s MTA system affected
Washington D.C Metro trains – delayed
Airports and airlines
Manchester Airport – delays for those checking-in for Swissport flights
London Gatwick – passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security but should still arrive for their normal check-in time
Ryanair – advise passengers to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions
Edinburgh Airport – wait times longer than usual
Stansted Airport – some airline check-in services reverted to being done manually, but main operational systems are unaffected and flights are still operating as normal
Luton Airport – running manual systems
Heathrow Airport – affected but flights operational – check with airline on latest journey information
American Airlines – all flights cancelled
United and Delta – no flights taking off
Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines – flights grounded
Frontier and SunCountry – affected by outage
San Francisco Airport – passengers reporting suspended flights
Mumbai Airport – check-in desks shut down for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights
Australian airline Qantas – flights grounded
Schipol Airport in Amsterdam – flights to and from the Netherlands affected
Spanish airport association AENA – reported issues at 42 airports
Rome’s Fiumicino Airport affected
Ibiza Airport – empty due to IT outage
Hamburg Airport in Germany affected
BER Berlin Airport – Long queues
The Hague Airport in Rotterdam – travellers experiencing longer wait times
Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo – check-in delays
Palma Mallorca Airport affected
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok – longer queues reported
Hong Kong Express Airways passengers delayed at Hong Kong International Airport
Television Networks
Sky News – Friday morning breakfast show unable to air but now back on screens with reporter reading from printed notes
Paramount Global channels including MTV, VH1, CMT and Pop TV – bumped offline.
Britain’s GPs
The Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire – without access to their IT systems
Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands – affected ability to book/consult with patients this morning
Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside – stated there has been a “big effect” and delays on the phone expected
Pocklington Group Practice in the East Riding of Yorkshire – appointments needing to be cancelled and rearranged
Hulme Hall Medical Group, in Stockport – unable to offer any appointments
Windrush Medical Practice in Witney, Oxfordshire – continuing as normal for urgent enquiries but ask for routine concerns to wait until Monday
Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley – no access to the clinical system, EMIS Web
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) confirmed the IT outage is disrupting community pharmacies
A surgery in Putney, southwest London – Displaying an error message online to patients who attempt to book
Global hospitals
Two German hospitals have been forced to cancel emergency operations
The hospitals, in the northern German cities of Luebeck and Kiel, cancelled all elective operations scheduled for today
Supermarkets and restaurants
Morrisons are affected
Some Waitrose and Co-op are now cash only
Gails and Waterstones experiencing some issues
Wetherspoons pubs – only accepting cash
Woolworths and Coles supermarkets in Australia – self service machines not working
Events
Manchester United ticket release postponed – morning’s ticket release will be postponed until midday and website will remain unavailable
Banks and supermarkets in Australia including Beyond Bank Australia have also been experiencing issues this morning.
Various Microsoft services in Japan and New Zealand are also battling tech issues.
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