People who purchase National Lottery games are being warned about a new rule change that’s now in place when it comes to claiming your winning prize.

Those who are lucky enough to win between £500.01 and £50,000 will have to follow a new process to receive their money due to a new claims procedure, since new operator Allwyn took over from Camelot.

The change has come into force due to the Post Office letting its central contract with The National Lottery expire.

The new prizes payment process also relates to prizes for all National Lottery games bought in retail.

Post Office shops were the only places where cheques for such large sums could be given to the winners, but this has now been stopped, according to The Sun.

Allwyn is now asking people to verify their winning numbers online or over the phone before sending their ticket via post to be inspected.

However, this means the claims process for retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000 is taking a little longer for some.

Is there a time limit on claiming Lotto scratchcards?

Scratchcard prizes must be claimed within 180 days from the closure date, reports The National Lottery - you can check the closure date for your scratchcard here.

Some winners including John Farrugia, 69, are “waiting up to a month” to receive their money prize payouts.

The retired builder who has “struggled” to get £800 from two tickets, told The Sun: “I’m being passed around departments when I call to try and redeem the money I won fair and square.”

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A spokeswoman for Allwyn said: “This is a new claims process following the Post Office's decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000.

"As a result, we’re experiencing a high volume of players contacting us.

"We’re sorry for any delays and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their claims, which is helping them get their prizes more quickly.

"We’d like to reassure any affected players that they will receive their prizes and to remind them that prizes of up to £500 can still be paid out in store.”