Malfunctioning UK lottery app withdrawn

UK National Lottery operator Camelot had an embarrassing experience this week when it had to pull a malfunctioning app that could have led to users dumping winning tickets.

Sky News reported Friday that the Lottery has “suspended” the app, which lottery ticket holders use to check their results, advising users to re-check their tickets on the lottery website in case they were impacted by the flawed app.

The Lottery website carried the advisory:

“If you are concerned that you may have disposed of a winning ticket, you have until 5pm on the 30th day after a draw to make a claim.”

Lottery officials said the malfunction was caused by a software release, and apologised in a statement that explained:

“Some players may have recently seen an incorrect non-winning message caused by a technical issue with both the QR scanner and manual-entry results checker on the apps.”

The “QR” scanner enables players to scan a paper ticket with their phone to see whether they have matched any numbers.

Exacerbating the issue, a player came forward claiming that he had tried to alert the Lottery to the glitchy app over a week ago.

Sky News reports that players took to social media to criticise the faulty app, with one claiming that a re-check of a ticket revealed that it had won a redraw, although the app had classified it as not a winner.

Our readers may recall that this is not the first time that Camelot has stumbled; on at least two occasions in recent years the operator has been handed hefty fines by the UK Gambling Commission for mistakes.

Related and similar