Expats blocked from UK lottery

UK Lottery

Brits abroad will no longer be able to play the UK National Lottery, as new rules come in blocking online play.

Previously, British people in foreign countries were able to play the lottery by buying tickets via the National Lottery website, however, from December 13 all entrants must actually be in Britain or the Isle of Man.

According to the National Lottery Commission the changes are being enforced to “to make the rules clearer for people who are based overseas”.

It appears that some confusion has arisen for people in other countries where it is actually illegal to buy a lottery ticket in another country, and thus some winners abroad have been unable to claim their prizes.

The Commission has now brought in the new rules to put an end to such confusion, a spokesman said: “if you continue the purchase even though you are outside the UK, it would be in breach of the terms and conditions. If you won a prize on that ticket, you would not be paid that prize. The purpose is really to make sure that players are aware of the rules before they purchase.”