When someone dies having held a National Lottery player account, there are several things that need dealing with: closing the account, claiming any funds held within it, and stopping any ongoing direct debit subscriptions. The National Lottery is operated by Allwyn (which took over the licence in February 2024) and has a dedicated bereavement process for exactly these situations.
This guide covers the full process – what a National Lottery player account actually holds, how to notify Allwyn, how to claim outstanding winnings or account balances, what happens to scratchcard prizes, how to cancel lottery subscriptions, and what happens when someone dies mid-way through receiving a large prize like Set For Life.
Quick reference
| Task | How to do it | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|
| Close a player account and claim any balance | Email bereavement@national-lottery.co.uk or call 0333 234 4433; complete bereavement form | Death certificate, bereavement form, grant of probate or letters of administration |
| Claim a prize held in the player account | Included in the bereavement process – Allwyn handles this alongside account closure | As above |
| Claim from an unscratched or draw ticket | Contact Allwyn; observe the 180-day claim deadline | Winning ticket, death certificate, grant of probate |
| Cancel a direct debit lottery subscription | Via the bank, or contact Allwyn on 0333 234 4433 | Account details; cancelling at the bank is often the quickest route |
| Set For Life – claim remaining prize | Contact Allwyn's bereavement team directly; ongoing payments cease on death | Death certificate, grant of probate, estate documentation |
Player support phone lines: 0333 234 4433 (online account holders) or 0333 234 5050 (shop players). Monday to Saturday, 8am–8pm; Sunday, 9am–5pm. Calls are charged at standard national rates and are included in most mobile and landline call packages.
Bereavement email: bereavement@national-lottery.co.uk
Postal address: The National Lottery, PO Box 251, Watford, WD18 9BR
What does a National Lottery player account hold?
Many people hold a National Lottery online player account without realising what it actually contains. Understanding this is important before notifying Allwyn of a death.
A National Lottery player account can hold:
- Winnings from draw-based games – prizes up to £2,000 won on Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball and other draw games are paid into the player account automatically. The player then withdraws to their bank account. If the deceased had recently won a draw prize, there may be money sitting in the account.
- Winnings from online instant win games and scratchcards – prizes from games played online are credited to the account in the same way.
- Direct debit subscription credits – if the player had set up direct debit draws for regular entry into games, there may be unused draw credits or small balances.
- Deposited funds – players can add funds to their account in advance, which sit as a playable balance.
The account balance does not automatically transfer to the estate. Allwyn needs to be notified formally before any funds can be released.
Prizes over £2,000 from draw games work differently – these are not automatically credited to a player account. They are paid by BACS transfer directly to the winner’s bank account (or by cheque for very large amounts). Any such payment made before death would already be in the person’s bank account.
How to notify the National Lottery and close the account
Allwyn runs a formal bereavement process for closing player accounts after a death. There is no self-service online route – you need to contact them directly.
Step 1: Make initial contact
Contact the National Lottery bereavement team:
- Email: bereavement@national-lottery.co.uk
- Phone: 0333 234 4433 (online account holders) or 0333 234 5050 (shop players)
- Post: The National Lottery, PO Box 251, Watford, WD18 9BR
When you make contact, provide:
- The deceased’s full name and usual address
- Date of birth and date of death
- Their National Lottery username or email address if you know it
Allwyn will tell you what they need next and send you their player bereavement form.
Step 2: Complete the player bereavement form
Allwyn has a dedicated player bereavement form (available at cdn-national-lottery.co.uk or provided on request). This form does two things: it requests the closure of the account, and it allows the executor or administrator to claim any monies held.
The person completing the form must confirm they are legally entitled to claim any monies from the deceased’s estate.
Step 3: Submit supporting documents
You will need to provide:
- Death certificate – an original or certified copy
- Grant of probate or letters of administration – required if you are claiming funds from the account. If the account balance is very small or nil, Allwyn may use discretion on this requirement.
If you have not yet obtained probate and you are waiting for it, Allwyn can freeze the account in the interim once notified of the death. This prevents any charges or issues while the estate is being administered.
What happens next
Once Allwyn has the completed form and documents, they will close the account and release any funds by cheque to the executor or administrator. They will contact you if further information is needed.
Claiming outstanding winnings
Winnings already in the player account
Any prizes already credited to the player account will be included in the bereavement process described above. Allwyn pays these out by cheque to the estate.
Unclaimed prizes from draw tickets
If the deceased bought tickets for upcoming draws, won a prize, but died before claiming – those prizes can still be claimed by the estate. The deadline for claiming a National Lottery draw prize is 180 days from the date of the draw. After 180 days, unclaimed prize funds are passed to the National Lottery Distribution Fund.
To make a claim:
- Contact Allwyn using the details above
- Provide the winning ticket, death certificate, and grant of probate (or letters of administration)
- Allwyn will verify the claim and pay any winnings to the estate
If the winning ticket is a physical ticket purchased at a shop, the original must be presented. Online entries are tracked within the player account and do not require a physical ticket.
Scratchcard prizes
Physical scratchcard prizes work differently from draw prizes and online games.
For prizes up to £500, scratchcard winnings can normally be claimed at any Post Office or lottery retailer. After the account holder’s death, the executor can take an unscratched or winning scratchcard to a Post Office – though in practice, if you are dealing with an estate, contacting Allwyn directly is more straightforward than going to a retailer.
For prizes over £500, the claim must go to Allwyn directly (see contact details above) or via the National Lottery prize claim centre at claims.national-lottery.co.uk.
The key deadline for scratchcard prizes: once a scratchcard game is withdrawn from sale, players have 180 days to claim. After that, prizes lapse. If the deceased had scratchcards that are part of a game that has recently closed, check the National Lottery’s unclaimed prizes page to verify whether the game is still live.
Cancelling lottery subscriptions
Many people pay for regular lottery entries by direct debit. The National Lottery’s subscription service allows players to set up automatic entries for Lotto, EuroMillions, or other games, with payments taken monthly from a bank account.
If the deceased held a direct debit subscription, it will continue taking payments unless someone cancels it.
Fastest route: cancel through the bank
Because a direct debit is an instruction held by the bank, you can cancel it through the bank directly – just as you would cancel any other direct debit from the deceased’s account. Most banks will allow executors or next of kin to cancel direct debits when administering a deceased’s account.
This stops the payments immediately. You do not need to wait for the National Lottery bereavement process to complete before cancelling the direct debit at the bank.
For full guidance on managing direct debits and bank accounts after a death, see our guide to what happens to bank accounts when someone dies.
Via Allwyn
You can also cancel the subscription through Allwyn directly:
- Phone: 0333 234 4433 (or 0333 234 5050 for shop players)
- Post: The National Lottery, PO Box 251, Watford, WD18 9BR
If you are handling the bereavement process with Allwyn anyway, they will close the account and cancel the subscription as part of that process. But if you want to stop payments immediately while you gather documents, going through the bank is quicker.
Set For Life and other large or structured prizes
Set For Life
Set For Life pays the top prize as £10,000 per month for 30 years. If the winner dies before all 30 years are complete, the monthly payments stop on the date of death. No one else can continue receiving the monthly payments – the entitlement ends.
Instead, Allwyn calculates a single lump-sum payment to the estate, representing the value of the remaining instalments still due. This amount becomes part of the estate and is distributed according to the will, or under the rules of intestacy if there is no will.
Executors should contact Allwyn’s bereavement team directly to arrange this. A death certificate, grant of probate (or letters of administration), and confirmation of the estate’s bank details will be required.
Annuity-style prizes from older games
Some older National Lottery prize structures were paid as annuities. The treatment of remaining payments varies by game rules. If the deceased held an older prize structure, contact Allwyn directly to establish what happens to remaining entitlements.
Large lottery wins and inheritance tax
Lottery prizes are not subject to income tax or capital gains tax when won. But once a lottery win enters someone’s estate, it becomes an asset like any other.
If the deceased held money from a recent large lottery win – whether as cash in their bank account, investments made with winnings, or a structured prize owed to the estate – that money may be subject to inheritance tax (IHT).
IHT applies to estates above the nil-rate band of £325,000 (2026/27), taxed at 40% on the excess. A surviving spouse or civil partner can inherit the full estate tax-free, and the unused nil-rate band transfers to the surviving partner’s estate.
If the estate includes significant lottery winnings, it is worth taking specialist advice from a solicitor or accountant who works in estate administration. For an overview of IHT rules, see our inheritance tax hub.
HMRC will need to be notified as part of the estate process if IHT is payable. See our guide to notifying HMRC when someone dies.
Tell Us Once: does it cover the National Lottery?
No. Tell Us Once is a government service that allows you to notify central and local government departments of a death in one step. It covers HMRC, the DWP, DVLA, Passport Office, and local councils – but it covers only public sector organisations.
The National Lottery is a commercial operator (Allwyn holds the licence). Tell Us Once will not notify them. You must contact the National Lottery separately, using the bereavement process described in this guide.
For more on Tell Us Once and what it does cover, see our guide to notifying the DWP when someone dies.
Things to watch out for
The 180-day prize deadline is firm. If the deceased held unclaimed draw prizes or scratchcards from a recently closed game, act quickly. Once 180 days from the draw or game closure has passed, the prize is gone.
Account closure and prize claim are separate from probate but need it. Allwyn will want to see a grant of probate or letters of administration before releasing funds. If the estate is small and straightforward, some discretion may apply – but for any meaningful balance, expect to provide legal authority documentation.
Direct debit entries continue until cancelled. Monthly lottery subscription entries will be purchased until someone stops the direct debit. This is especially worth checking if the deceased had multiple subscriptions across Lotto, EuroMillions, and other games.
Small prizes may already be in the bank account. Prizes over £2,000 are paid directly to the player’s registered bank account via BACS. If the deceased won a significant prize shortly before death, that money may already be in their bank account – not in a lottery account balance.
Set For Life winners: get legal advice on valuation. If the estate includes an entitlement to future Set For Life payments, the value of that entitlement may need to be professionally assessed for IHT purposes. Allwyn will calculate the lump-sum payment to the estate, but a solicitor should review the overall IHT position.
What else needs doing after a death
The National Lottery is one notification on a longer list. For a complete guide to all the organisations you need to contact after a death, see our what to do after a death hub.
If the deceased held a TV Licence, see our guide to cancelling a TV Licence when someone dies – another subscription-type service with its own process. For the bank account question – and managing direct debits from a deceased person’s account – our guide to what happens to bank accounts when someone dies covers the full picture.
Sources: National Lottery player bereavement form (Allwyn, 2024); Life Ledger, “How to notify the National Lottery of a death”; GOV.UK, “Tell Us Once” service guide; GOV.UK, “Inheritance Tax” (rates and thresholds verified May 2026). Contact details verified via national-lottery.co.uk customer service documentation, May 2026.