Postcode Lottery sells tickets by monthly subscription. The cost of entering one ticket for every draw in a month is £12.50, paid in advance.
A minimum of 30% of each ticket price goes to support fantastic charities and deserving community projects. Our players have raised over £1.8 Billion for good causes.
There are £1,000 prizes announced every day, and on Saturdays players can win a share of £1 Million. Every month, players can also win a share of our amazing Postcode Millions prize, or collect £250,000** for every ticket in one winning postcode.
Please note that you must be aged 18 or older to play Postcode Lottery. Postcode Lottery is committed to responsible play. Postcode Lottery also supports GambleAware, a charity which funds the work of GamCare, which provides help, information and advice to anyone suffering with a gambling problem.
Usually, the Postcode Lottery draws take place on the first Wednesday of every month. On that day, twenty draws are completed and these select the winners for all of our prizes in that month of play. Winning postcodes are then announced every day. When you sign up to play Postcode Lottery, your first draw date is listed in your confirmation of your subscription email.
Most of our players make monthly payments for their tickets by Direct Debit. Setting this up is quick and easy and you'll never have to update your details. Any prize money will be paid directly into your bank account and collections are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
It's also possible to sign up for a subscription using Debit Card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Previously, it was possible to directly sign up to play with Credit Card or pay by Debit Card using a specific 'VISA via PayPal' approach. It's no longer possible to sign up for new tickets using these payment methods. You can use your Debit Card to pay directly by choosing the Debit Card option in the sign up process.
Please note, we do not accept UnionPay Debit Cards or non-UK Debit Cards.
You can now use Apple Pay to make secure payments for a Postcode Lottery subscription with your Apple Pay enabled device using the Safari browser.
When selecting your payment method, choose Apple Pay from the available options followed by Pay with Apple Pay at the next stage.
If you'd like to learn more, find out how to set up and use Apple Pay.
You can now use Google Pay to make secure payments for a Postcode Lottery subscription, using the cards saved to your Google Account. To pay by Google Pay:
Select Google Pay as an option at the payment method stage, then Continue. After selecting Google Pay as your chosen payment method, check your details are correct then select Pay with Google Pay.
If you'd like to learn more, find out how to use Google Pay.
Players historically used 'VISA via PayPal' to sign up for monthly subscriptions using a VISA Debit Card. This required players to create a PayPal account. Players who wish to pay by Debit Card can now do so directly by choosing the Debit Card option when signing up. This 'VISA via PayPal' option is no longer offered for new subscriptions although you can still pay for your subscription using PayPal.
Prizes are announced every day of the week with Postcode Lottery. You pay monthly for your ticket and when you sign up you will be informed of your first draw date. Winning postcodes from this draw will be announced daily from the following Saturday. After this date, check out the winning postcodes revealed every day to see if your postcode gets lucky!
There are £1,000 prizes announced every day. On Saturdays players can win a share of £1 Million. Every month, players could also win £250,000** for every ticket in one winning postcode, or one lucky postcode sector wins a share of our amazing Postcode Millions prize. On the rare occasion where there are not enough winning tickets in the postcode sector, the area may be expanded to the postcode district. See what you could win and check out our Draw Calendar (PDF) for more details.
All of our results are published on our Lottery Results page.
Our winning postcodes are selected via random draws using software which has been certified by a Gambling Commission-approved testing house. The software uses a random number generator to pick out winning postcodes from the postcodes players have bought a ticket to enter.
20 draws are conducted each month with an independent adjudicator present, usually on the first Wednesday of the month. The winning postcodes are then announced on a daily basis as shown in the Prize Draw Calendar. Only playing postcodes (or valid tickets) are entered into our draws. So, there's always a guaranteed winner for every prize.
The prizes advertised are drawn first. If, because of the number of players in the winning postcodes, this amounts to less than the Prize Percentage we will usually keep drawing more postcodes to win more £15 prizes. On occasion after all advertised prizes have been drawn, any remaining money from the Prize Percentage of ticket sales is carried forward to be won in future draws by the same promoting society. The Prize Percentage is the percentage allocated to prizes in a draw - which will be up to 40% and no less than 35% of the money raised through ticket sales for that draw. Currently, the Prize Percentage is 40%.
The monthly payment for one ticket (one subscription) is £12.50. If you choose to play two subscriptions, the cost is £25 per month. For three subscriptions, you'll pay £37.50 each month. There are no additional transaction fees.
In your first month, two payments may be taken close together. These are payments for each of your first two months of play. Tickets are paid monthly in advance simply to ensure that you play in draws from the earliest opportunity. After this first month, payments will only occur once every month. The exact timing of when these regular payments are taken depends on your choice of payment method.
Direct Debit customers have their payments taken either at an early collection date (on the Friday that falls on or between 4th and 10th of the month) or at a late collection date (around the end of each month).
For specific information on your payment date schedule, call our Customer Experience staff on freephone number 0808 109 8765.
Our payment system changed a little while ago to make it easier to manage your tickets. Previously players with more than one ticket would see a single Direct Debit mandate for the cost of all tickets. Now though each ticket uses a separate Direct Debit mandate, which makes it easier to change the number of tickets you play. Please don’t be alarmed if you see more than one Direct Debit mandate on your account. For any questions, please call our Customer Experience staff on freephone number 0808 109 8765.
Many players make monthly payments for tickets by Direct Debit. If you choose to use this payment method, you are fully protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.
If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit Postcode Lottery Ltd will notify you 3 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Postcode Lottery Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.
If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by Postcode Lottery Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Postcode Lottery Ltd asks you to.
You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.
If a payment error occurred when you tried to sign up with a Debit Card or a PayPal account, you can try again with a different Debit Card or PayPal account.
Please note we do not accept UnionPay Debit Cards or non-UK Debit Cards or Credit Cards. Alternatively, try using a different payment method to sign up.