If you’re lucky enough to be the owner of a winning scratchcard ticket, you might be asking yourself – ‘How do I claim a scratchcard win?’. If you are a player of online scratchcards, you will know that prizes get paid out automatically, but this isn’t the case with real life National Lottery scratchcards!
Well, depending on the amount that you’ve won, there are a few different ways to do it.
Below, we go into detail on how you can check if your scratchcard is actually a winner, and how to claim the big scratchcard prizes.
Checking your Scratchcard Win
Before you start thinking about spending your millions, or maybe few hundred pounds, you need to check that your scratchcard is a winner.
FIrstly, you want to make sure your will not have any issues claiming your winnings and you don’t have a damaged scratchcard!
Because there is no such thing as an online scratchcard checker, the best way to check your scratchcard is to take it into any store that sells any scratchcards or any other National Lottery games.
All of these stores have a machine – called National Lottery terminals – which the retailer can use to scan the scratchcard and verify your win by printing a scratchcard validation receipt.
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If you have won big, and the retailer can’t pay out there and then, make sure to keep hold of BOTH the winning scratchcard and scratchcard validation and follow the instructions below for the amount you have won.
An example can be seen in the below image:
If it says you are not a winner, then ask to retain the scratchcard.
There have been instances previously where winning scratchcards have not been paid out, but we have also seen scratchcards where people have played them incorrectly, such as the Cashword Bonus Scratchcard.
If you are still unsure, it is better to be safe than sorry. Contact National Lottery directly, or even contact us via our social media pages or by email, and we will help you out for free!
Can you take a winning scratchcard to any shop?
For winning scratchcards up to £100, you claim your prize from any shop that sells National Lottery tickets or scratchcards. For values between £100 and £500, theoretically you can claim them at any shop, but cashiers are not obliged to pay out, especially if they don’t have the cash.
For winnings over £500, you need to visit a Post Office, or contact National Lottery. Full procedure details are outlined below.
Sometimes, shops will refuse to pay out winnings if it is near to closing time. See our post on ‘What time can you cash in scratchcards?‘ for more information!
Claiming Your Scratchcard Win
Because you cannot claim scratchcard winnings online, you must submit a claim for winning scratchcards in a local retailer, designated Post Office for Lottery and scratchcard wins or directly over the phone.
Luckily for UK players, there is no tax on winning scratchcards, but different prize amounts must be claimed in different ways, as detailed below:
Winnings up to £100
If you’ve ever claimed a scratchcard prize in your life, you probably already know this.
You can take a winning scratchcard into retailers who are expected to pay any amount up to £100. Some retailers are limited to paying only £50, so be aware of this. Whilst retailers are expected to pay, in reality, if they have little cash in store, they might refuse to pay out.
We would recommend trying stores that are busy and likely to have enough cash in the till; supermarkets are probably the best option to try for this!
As well as retailers, there are designated Post Offices in the UK that will pay out scratchcard winnings, and can offer cash, as well as a cheque.
Lastly, it is possible to claim scratchcard winnings by post.
Fill in your name and address and post it to the address on the back of any scratchcard (see below), and prizes will be sent out via cheque.
Finally, it is possible to claim winnings via cheque in person at one of the National Lottery Regional Centres.
However, you need to call the National Lottery helpline on the back of the scratchcard first, and arrange an appointment. Also, there must be a reason why you cannot claim via one of the previous methods stated for this to be accepted.
Winnings over £100, up to £500
The pay out rules for values between £100 and £500 are very similar to the smaller prize amounts just discussed.
Retailers can, but are not required to pay out on values up to £500. Retailers may scan your scratchcard, and then decide it is too much to pay you in store once the prize amount is revealed. In which case, obtain your scratchcard validation receipt and winning scratchcard and the retailer should advise you on where to claim your prize.
However, if they are unsure, as we’ve stated before in the previous section, winnings can be claim at designated Post Offices in the UK, via post or by appointment only at National Lottery Regional Centres.
Winnings over £500, up to £50,000
If you’re lucky enough to win this much money, then congratulations!
Incredibly, there is very little effort required in receiving a pay out of up to £50,000.
If you are in the UK, you can no longer claim any prizes from retailers, and you must claim winnings from designated UK Post Offices or from Camelot via post.
At designated Post Offices, prizes up to £50,000 will be paid via cheque, in which you can claim the first £500 as cash. Whilst you do not need to fill in a Prize Claim Form, you will need to prove your name and address using a form of ID.
If you wish to claim via Post, you need to fill in your name and address on the reverse of the scratchcard and send off to the designated address. If you prize is over £5,000, you must also complete a Prize Claim Form.
If however, you are located in the Isle of Man, certain retailers will pay out up to £50,000 with the first £500 in cash if requested, much like designated Post Offices in the UK. You can also claim via Post in the same way stated above.
As with all prizes mentioned previously, you can contact Camelot to request an appointment at a Camelot Regional Centre in which you are required to bring along the winning scratchcard and completed prize form.
Winnings over £50,000, including jackpot wins
Whilst all prizes over £50,000 aren’t jackpot prizes, you’ve certainly done well in winning such a large prize!
There is only one method of claiming these prizes, and that is by doing so in person either at home, another agreed location or at a Camelot Regional Centre.
To validate winnings, you need to fill in a Prize Claim Form (or any other form required at the time), present the winning scratchcard and proof of identity.
Money is paid out by cheque, bank transfer or direct credit at Camelot’s option.
Non-Cash Prizes or Annuity prizes
Whilst there are not currently any scratchcards which offer non-cash prizes or annuity prizes at present, an example of a scratchcard that had this was the £2 Monopoly Bonus Scratchcard, image below:
Rules on how these prizes are paid out are set out on an individual basis, and you must refer to the scratchcard game details – found here – as required.
Requesting and Completing Prize Claim Forms
If you’ve won one of the prize amounts above that require a completed Prize Claim Form to be completed, you can request one from National Lottery by contacting National Lottery.
The person signing the completed Prize Claim Form are lawfully declaring that they are entitled to the prize amount. This is to make you the legal owner of the prize, but also makes you responsible for any expenses incurred should you make a false or fraudulent claim.
In certain circumstances, a representative may complete the Prize Claim Form on behalf of somebody else. This includes certain circumstances such as issues due to legal, physical or disabilities, with all payments eventually made to the rightful winner.
If a claim is made on behalf of somebody who has died since winning the scratchcard, the money will still be won and made payable to the deceased’s estate. Do note, that this will have tax implications, as briefly mentioned in this article about scratchcard tax.
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