Lotto jackpot draw halted by technical glitch

A "technical fault" has halted the National Lottery's Saturday evening Lotto draw.

It is understood that viewers watching the rollover saw the programme abruptly cut off after the bonus ball failed to drop on the draw machine.

The operator Allwyn confirmed the draw had been paused "due to the bonus ball not dropping" and would resume as soon as possible with an alternative machine and "under the supervision of an independent adjudicator".

It is not yet clear what caused the glitch.

"We expect to complete tonight's Lotto draw and publish the verified results on national-lottery.co.uk later this evening and apologise for the delay," a spokesperson said.

The stream for the draw on the National Lottery Youtube channel was unavailable on Saturday evening.

The National Lottery operator changed for the first time in 30 years in 2024.

Camelot had run the lottery from its base in Watford since the game's launch in 1994, but its licence ended in January last year.

A 10-year licence was given to new operator Allwyn, which has continued to oversee the draw from the former Camelot offices.

International operator Allwyn Entertainment, is owned by Czech oil and gas tycoon Karel Komarek.