The National Lottery - Play Lotto Online > Reviews (3)

The National Lottery! Whether you play it or not you are sure to have an opinion on the game that has become one of the most popular lotteries in the world. Opponents of the game call it a tax on the stupid that encourages gambling amongst members of society who would otherwise not consider betting. Fans of the lottery point out the money raised for good causes, which currently stands at thirteen Billion pounds, and the fact that if people do not want to play there is nothing forcing them to do so. Whatever side of the argument you prefer the National Lottery is here to stay, and playing has just become a lot easier with the introduction of online Lottery ticket purchasing.

The thought of being able to buy my Lottery ticket online immediately appealed to the lazy side of me, anything that lets me stay sitting at the computer rather than going out in the rain has to be a good thing. So I made a point of visiting www.national-lottery.co.uk on the very first day that I was able to buy my ticket online, which was the 29th December 2003. On entering the site you arrive at the homepage of the National Lottery with various links to all of the many games, scratch cards and results pages. Clicking the “Play Here” tab at the top of the page takes you to a new page where you can play the main Lotto game online, as well as the daily draw and some other instant win style games. Another click is required on the play now button which takes you to the virtual play slip page where you enter your number selections.

♦Filling in the virtual play slip♦

The virtual play slip looks exactly like the paper play slip that gets inserted into the machine in a shop. Numbers are simply typed in line by line depending on how many entries are required up to a maximum of seven lines per slip. There is also a “Lucky Dip” button next to each line for those players who prefer to have their numbers chosen for them. Once you have entered your numbers you go to the bottom of the play slip and select which draws you wish your numbers to be placed in. The choices are entries into the Wednesday or Saturday draw or entry into both of the draws. Underneath the “Choose Draws” button is the “Choose Number of Weeks” button, clicking on this gives the player the choice of entering the selected numbers into any number of the next draws from one to eight weeks. Once you decide how many weeks you would like to enter the total cost at the bottom of the slip will update automatically giving you the price you will have to pay to have your numbers entered into the draws you wish to be entered into. A click on the play now button underneath the virtual play slip takes you to a new screen where you can sign in if you are an existing member or open an account if you are new to the process.

♦Opening an account♦

Opening an account is essential if you wish to play the Lottery online; the whole process takes little more than five minutes and only has to be done once. A disclaimer is displayed stating that the player must be over sixteen years old and live within the United Kingdom, it is also worth saying that a Debit card (such as Visa Delta, Switch, Solo or Electron) is required to deposit money into you Lottery account to pay for your lottery entries.

If you agree with the disclaimer and the terms and conditions displayed a click on the continue button takes you to a page where you can enter your personal details. This page is SSL secured to protect your sensitive information and consists of name, address and phone number fields. Further down the page is the financial segment, with blank fields waiting to be filled with your Debit card number and expiry date. At the bottom of the page is a further security check required for sixteen to nineteen year olds, this is the fairly standard “Mothers Maiden Name” question which just offers all concerned that little extra security, having said that I am not sure why this just applies to sixteen to nineteen year olds. Finally on this page a password and username are required with the password having to consist of both letters and numbers, both are case sensitive so a note of what and how you have put in these fields is a good idea. With all of the relevant fields completed you are sent a welcome email and transferred to the “My Account” page.

♦My Account Page♦

The “My Account” page holds all of the relevant information relating to your account. First on the page is a button called “Tickets and Transactions” which will display ticket details as well as money added or taken from your account. The next button is called “Change Details” and allows you to edit your contact details as well as changing the Debit card you use if you so wish. Other buttons are fairly self explanatory with “Change Password” enabling you to do just that. One of the best thought out buttons on this page however is the “Change Game Settings” button. On the page that loads when this link is pushed is the ability to limit the amount you spend on the lottery online in one day or over a week. Once this facility is set up the web-site will not allow you to exceed the preset amount, with those determined to do so having to ring a special telephone number to increase the amount they wish to spend. Of course before you have your selections entered into the draws you need to pay for them, which is where the “Add Funds” button comes in.

♦Add Funds♦

Adding funds to your account is a very easy procedure. With your debit card details already having been added earlier it is just a matter of entering the amount you wish to transfer and re entering your password to make sure it is you who is taking the action. If your Debit Card is valid and correct a page will appear proclaiming that the adding of funds to your account has been successful, it really is that simple.

♦But How Do I Get My Money If I Win? ♦

For convenience, most winnings can be paid directly to your Lottery account or your debit card. Wins of up to £500 will be paid directly to your online lottery account where you can either transfer them to your debit card or use them to play more games. Wins of £500 to £5,000 are paid directly to your Debit card while wins of over £5,000 need to be claimed in person from a National Lottery office in the same way that you would have to if you were playing offline.

I thought I would not be able to comment personally on the procedure as my luck with the lottery is poor; however on Wednesday 14th January my lucky balls dropped (if you’ll pardon the expression) and I found myself £59 richer. On signing onto the internet the following day I had received an email telling me I had some “exciting news” waiting when I signed into my online lottery account. Sure enough after signing in a pop up exclaimed that I had won a prize on the lottery draw. Checking the “My Account” section told me my online balance was £59 and to click the “request payment” button to have the money put onto my debit card. A click of the button and a new page loads with a box for you to enter the amount you wish to withdraw from your account; the amount must be a minimum of £5. And that was it, one day later the money I requested was sitting safely in my bank account, you really cannot ask for a more straight forward and smooth transaction.

So there you have the basic facts that should make playing the Lottery online a straight forward and painless procedure. I have played this way for three weeks now and it really is very easy. My only gripe is that there is no way of storing your numbers online if you wish to use the same selection every week, this means that numbers have to be typed in every time a ticket is purchased. Those who still like to have a paper Lottery ticket in their hands will be pleased to know it is possible to print out the virtual Lottery ticket so it can be clutched excitedly during the draw and torn up in frustration straight afterwards, a practice I am more than familiar with.