UKGC: Lottery Winner Data is Publicly Accessible
Regulator directs public to the National Lottery website for prize breakdown information, citing it is 'reasonably accessible elsewhere'.
The UK Gambling Commission has withheld centrally compiled data on National Lottery prize winners, stating the information is already public. In response to a Freedom of Information request, the regulator directed the public to the National Lottery's website, where draw-by-draw data is available for the previous 180 days.
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has clarified its position on providing centralised data for National Lottery prize winners, stating the information is already publicly available and will not be compiled directly by the regulator in response to public requests.
This was confirmed in the Commission's response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 9 November 2025. The request sought statistics on the number of winners for each prize category in the National Lottery draws, including match 3, 4, 5, 5+bonus, and the jackpot.
Context: Why This Data Matters
Access to comprehensive data on prize winners allows consumers and researchers to analyse trends, understand the odds in practice, and verify the transparency of the National Lottery. The request sought this information either on a per-draw basis or averaged over time, which would be useful for long-term analysis of prize distribution.
Details of the FOI Response
The UKGC chose to withhold the information, citing Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This section provides an exemption for information that is already considered "reasonably accessible" to the public through other means.
In its response, the Commission stated: "information regarding National Lottery draws can be found on the National Lottery website... The information is available for the previous 180 days and provides a breakdown of the prize tiers for each draw."
This means the regulator will not collate and provide historical or aggregated data that its licensees, in this case, the National Lottery, already publish themselves.
Significance for Consumers
The UKGC's decision places the responsibility for data collection and analysis squarely on the public. While the information is accessible, there are limitations for consumers:
- Time Limit: The data on the National Lottery's website is only available for the previous 180 days. Anyone seeking to analyse trends over a longer period would need to have been archiving this data themselves.
- Lack of Aggregation: The FOI request asked for data that could be averaged over time. The draw-by-draw results on the operator's website are not presented in an aggregated format, meaning consumers must manually compile and calculate any long-term averages.
This response clarifies the UKGC's role as a regulator rather than a public data repository. It oversees the lottery's operation and ensures it is run fairly, but it directs consumers to the operator for detailed, day-to-day operational data like prize breakdowns.