How to Cancel People's Postcode Lottery (and What to Try Instead)

How to cancel People’s Postcode Lottery: the steps

Online cancellation (fastest method):

1. Go to postcodelottery.co.uk/cancel and complete the request-to-cancel form with your name, postcode and account details. This is a standalone cancellation form — you do not need to log into My Account first.
2. Submit the form. PPL’s Customer Experience team processes the request and sends written confirmation once your cancellation, and your final draw date, are set.
3. If you hold multiple tickets — at the same postcode or different ones — note which specific ticket you want to cancel, since the team can cancel one subscription while leaving others running.

By phone:
Call People’s Postcode Lottery’s freephone customer service line on 0808 109 8765. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, and Saturday, 9am to 5pm. This is also the number to call if you want to reduce the number of tickets you hold rather than cancel everything, since partial changes are handled by phone rather than the online form.

By post:
You can write to Postcode Lottery, 28 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4ET, United Kingdom, stating that you wish to cancel and including your name, postcode and account details; PPL confirms written requests once processed. There is no separate cancellation email address published on their site — the online form or phone are the primary routes.

When does the cancellation take effect?

Your cancellation takes effect from your next billing date. Any payment already taken, or already due, for an upcoming draw will not be refunded, and any resulting wins from that already-paid-for draw are still paid out in the normal way. Once your cancellation is confirmed, PPL will not request any further payment from you.

Important: you will not receive a refund for the current month, regardless of when in the billing cycle you cancel.

What happens if your postcode wins after you cancel?

If your postcode is drawn in a prize draw that falls within a period you have already paid for, you are still eligible to win — because you were a valid subscriber for that draw period. You are only excluded from draws that fall after your subscription ends.

What if you have forgotten your password?

Use the “Forgot password” link on the My Account login page at postcodelottery.co.uk to reset it. If you no longer have access to your registered email address, call PPL’s My Account support line on 0808 168 2511 — a different number from the general cancellation line — and their team will verify your identity using your postcode, name and address before making any changes, including processing a cancellation on your behalf.

Reasons people cancel — and alternatives

“It’s too expensive”
At £12.50 a month, a single ticket costs £150 a year. If cost is the concern but you still want the charity-lottery format, other society lotteries — including local hospice lotteries and the Health Lottery — run on the same regulated structure with a statutory minimum 20% of ticket price to good causes, and some have lower entry points. Alternatively, giving directly to a charity of your choice puts you in control of where the money goes, with the full amount reaching that charity rather than a fixed percentage.

“I never win anything”
People’s Postcode Lottery reports that 84% of players won a prize of some kind in 2025, though prize sizes vary hugely, from small vouchers to shares of larger jackpots. Whatever you personally win, a minimum of 30% of your subscription goes to charity every month, so you make a charitable contribution even in months you win nothing.

“The prizes don’t match my postcode’s player count”
The more players registered at your postcode, the smaller your individual share of any postcode-wide prize. PPL does not publish live player counts by postcode, so there is no way to check this figure in advance — if this bothers you, an operator with individually drawn prizes, rather than postcode-pooled ones, may suit you better.

“I want to enter a prize competition instead”
People’s Postcode Lottery and prize competitions like Omaze are very different products: a licensed monthly-subscription lottery versus a one-off entry for a specific prize, often with a free postal entry route. See our free entry routes guide for how to enter operators like Omaze at no cost, or our guide to Omaze alternatives for other options.

Comparing the alternatives

If you are cancelling for cost reasons but still want to give and have a chance of winning something, here is how the main options compare:

Option	Typical cost	Charity share	Prize structure	Best for
People’s Postcode Lottery	£12.50/month	Minimum 30%	Frequent, postcode-pooled prizes, daily draws	A mix of regular small prizes plus charity giving
Health Lottery	Similar to a National Lottery line	Statutory minimum 20%, currently around 25.5%	Twice-weekly draws with individually drawn tickets	Individually drawn odds rather than postcode pooling
A local hospice lottery	Often £1–£5 a week, varies by hospice	Statutory minimum 20%, many pay more	Regular smaller draws funding one named hospice	Supporting a specific local cause you already know
Direct charity donation	Any amount you choose	Effectively 100%, plus Gift Aid if you’re a UK taxpayer	No prize — this is straightforward giving	Maximum impact per pound, no lottery element
Free-entry prize competition (e.g. Omaze)	Free, using the postal entry route	Varies by operator — Omaze guarantees a £1m minimum per house draw (~17% of sales historically, often lower)	One-off, high-value prizes at long odds	A shot at a large prize with no ongoing cost

Every option in this table except direct donation is a licensed or regulated product with a stated minimum contribution to good causes — none of them are informal or unregulated.

Will cancelling affect your charity contribution?

Yes — once you cancel, no further contributions flow from your subscription. People’s Postcode Lottery funds 20 independent charitable trusts, including Postcode Green Trust and Postcode Local Trust, each separately registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). If you want to keep supporting good causes after cancelling, you can donate directly to any of these trusts, or to individual charities they fund.

For a broader look at ways to give that also give back, see our how much goes to charity comparison.

Can you rejoin after cancelling?

Yes. You can sign up again at any time at postcodelottery.co.uk. PPL’s published account guidance does not set out any minimum waiting period between cancelling and rejoining, though your postcode’s player count may have changed in the meantime, which can affect your future prize share.