If the trip down to your local lottery retailer once or twice a week is becoming too much of a hassle, or you’d simply prefer to enter your numbers and forget about them for 26, 52 or 104 draws, a National Lottery subscription could be an ideal solution. Lottery retailers themselves don’t tend to talk very much about subscriptions because they make 5% commission on every ticket they sell, so it isn’t in their best interests to advertise this service, but it’s available nevertheless.

Getting Started

In order to start a National Lottery subscription you will need to obtain an official subscription form. The quickest way of doing this is by calling 0845 278 8000 and providing your name and address so that a form can be sent to you directly. Note that you can only play by subscription if you have a UK address, and also that British Forces Post Office addresses and those in the Isle of Man and Channel Islands are not UK addresses. Playing from overseas.

When you receive your subscription form you need to enter your name, address and your desired numbers. You will also need to select the number of draws you want to enter and the duration of your subscription. You can enter your numbers for the Wednesday draws only, for the Saturday draws only or for both draws each week. As far as duration is concerned, you can play for 26, 52 or 104 consecutive draws. Your subscription cost will need to be paid in advance if you pay by cheque or postal order, but if you pay by Direct Debit your account will only be deducted for 13 draws at a time.

Obtaining Proof

When your subscription form has been returned to the National Lottery operator and processed, you will receive proof of your subscription in the form Subscription Certificate. This details the numbers you have entered and the dates of the draws you have subscribed for. The subscription office will automatically send you a renewal form several weeks before your existing subscription ends so that you can renew without your numbers missing any lottery draws if you wish to do so.

It is important to note that, until you have received your Subscription Certificate, you cannot simply assume that your numbers are entered into the lottery.

When you receive your Subscription Certificate you should check that all of the details (your numbers, the dates of the draws, etc) are correct and as you requested. If this is not the case then any errors should be reported to the subscriptions office immediately so that they can be rectified.

When You Win

One of the handy things about playing the National Lottery by subscription is that you don’t need to check your numbers or make a claim. Instead, your numbers are checked automatically on your behalf.

• If you win £500 or less then they will send you a cheque by mail within seven days.
• If you win between £501 and £10,000 then you will be sent a claim form which you will need to complete and return.
• If you win more than £10,000 then you will be informed of this and you must then claim your prize in person at a National Lottery Regional Centre.

Giving a Subscription

If you know someone aged 16 or over who loves to play the lottery as much as you do then you may be interested to know that you can give them a lottery subscription as a gift. To do this, complete the subscription application form and enter the details of the person you want to gift the subscription to in the “Recipient” section of the form. You can also enter a personal message which will appear on the Subscription Certificate when they receive it. Of course, by giving a subscription as a gift you automatically waive all of your rights to any prize money that may be won by the lines you select, so be sure to make sure you get your own tickets too!