National Lottery results arrive as a 24-hour digital blackout shifts how players check tickets

Millions of National Lottery players woke up to fresh draw numbers this weekend with an extra complication: the app and website went dark for a planned upgrade window, pushing ticket-checking back to old-school routines. The timing matters because results culture is instant now—people want confirmation in seconds—yet the shutdown forces a slower, more physical workflow: scanning tickets at retailers, keeping paper slips safe, and waiting to access online accounts once services return.

For anyone holding a ticket, the practical impact isn’t just curiosity. It affects when you can verify a win, how you claim smaller prizes, and what to do if you normally rely on digital storage rather than a printed slip.

A planned outage changes the “results” ritual overnight

The upgrade window began late Saturday and runs through Sunday, meaning online players temporarily lose the simplest path: open the app, tap “results,” and confirm. During the downtime, draws still go ahead, but the experience becomes split:

• Retail ticket-holders can still check results in-store and claim smaller prizes at the counter.

• Online ticket-holders can’t use the app/website to do routine tasks until services restore, even though the draw has happened.

• Instant-win play was also curtailed slightly earlier than the main shutdown, reinforcing that the blackout is wider than a single results page.

The upgrade is framed as a modernization effort—new interfaces, simpler navigation, and tighter “player protection” features such as mandatory limits for new accounts and timed prompts. But on results weekend, the user-facing reality is simpler: keep your ticket safe, and use offline methods until the digital tools come back.

Here’s a quick, practical checklist to avoid the most common mistakes during an outage weekend:

• If you bought in-store: sign the back of the ticket, don’t rely on a photo alone, and check at a retailer if you can’t access digital tools.

• If you bought online: don’t panic-buy duplicates because you can’t see your ticket—wait for account access to return.

• If you think you’ve won: smaller wins can often be handled at retail; larger wins typically need a different claims route and extra verification.

• If you’re traveling: hold onto the physical ticket and plan to check it where scanning services are available.

• If you share tickets in a group: write down who bought which line and keep the original slip with the buyer until checked.

National Lottery results: the latest winning numbers

Lotto (Saturday, 24 January 2026)

Winning numbers: 01, 04, 08, 23, 34, 57
Bonus Ball: 29
Jackpot: £3.8 million

The spread this time mixed low single-digits with a late jump into the 50s, a pattern that tends to trigger a lot of “so close” reactions for players who anchor their picks around birthdays and anniversaries.

Thunderball (Saturday, 24 January 2026)

Winning numbers: 03, 15, 22, 29, 39
Thunderball: 05
Top prize: £500,000

Thunderball’s structure keeps interest high because it’s easier to match some numbers than in Lotto, even though the top prize is smaller. That makes it especially popular on weekends when people want a quick “did I win anything?” check.

EuroMillions (Friday, 23 January 2026)

Winning numbers: 04, 05, 13, 21, 42
Lucky Stars: 03, 10
Jackpot: £86,501,911

This draw keeps attention elevated because it’s one of the largest headline jackpots on the calendar. It also fuels cross-ticket checking, since many players buy EuroMillions and then add weekend games.

Set For Life (Thursday, 22 January 2026)

Winning numbers: 01, 05, 13, 17, 21
Life Ball: 02
Top prize: £10,000 a month for 30 years

Set For Life remains the most psychologically different of the major draws: it’s less about a single life-changing lump sum and more about dependable long-term income, which is why its results tend to spark a different kind of conversation.

As the upgrade window ends, the rush will likely return to normal: app refreshes, ticket scans, and a flood of “check your numbers” posts. For now, the results are in—and the only real job for players is to confirm them safely, keep tickets secure, and avoid the two classic outage-weekend errors: losing the slip, or buying again because you couldn’t log in.