How Does Postcode Lottery Work?

Postcode Lottery (People’s Postcode Lottery until its 2026 rebrand) is a charity lottery for Great Britain in which your postcode is your ticket. Here is the whole thing in plain words.

1. Your postcode is your ticket

You sign up with your home postcode and pay monthly. From then on your postcode is entered into every draw that month. You never pick numbers. If your postcode comes up, every playing ticket in it wins. Players must be 18 or over and live in England, Scotland or Wales.

2. All of a month’s draws happen on one day

There are about 20 draws a month, one for each of the charitable Postcode Trusts, and all of them are carried out on the first Wednesday of the month. The winning postcodes are then revealed one day at a time over the following weeks.

3. Results are revealed every day at 9am

Each day at 9am UK time, 20 winning postcodes of £1,000 a ticket are revealed, and some days add bigger prizes: Millionaire Street on Saturdays, the £250,000 Prize once a month, and Postcode Millions (revealed at 5pm) a few times a year. See today’s results and every prize explained.

4. Prizes are per ticket and paid automatically

Fixed prizes are paid to every ticket in the winning postcode, so a player with two tickets wins twice. You never need to claim: Direct Debit players are paid within about 28 days, and winners are told by email, text or post. Prizes are tax-free. Players who pay another way register bank details to receive wins over £15, and prizes must be claimed within six months of the results.

5. At least 30% goes to charity

At least 30% of every ticket goes to the Postcode Trusts, which fund charities and local good causes, and around 40% goes to prizes. More on where the money goes.

How to play

Sign up on the official website with your postcode. Payment is monthly in advance by Direct Debit, debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay (not credit cards). It costs £12.50 a month per ticket. To see whether your postcode has won before, use the postcode checker.

Never pay to claim. Real winners are paid automatically and are never asked for a fee, bank login or card number. A letter, text or call asking for money is a scam.

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