Allwyn launched a limited-edition Scratch-Coin on 22 May to mark 30 years of National Lottery Scratchcards, setting up a short giveaway that begins on Saturday, 23 May at a handful of UK stores. The coin was created with artist and illustrator Hattie Stewart and will be handed out with any National Lottery Scratchcard purchase while stocks last.

Ten specially selected National Lottery retail partners across the UK will each receive 500 coins, with the giveaway tied to the new £300,000 Birthday Scratchcard. The card costs £2 and gives players an overall one in 3.33 chance of winning a prize, with the top payout set at £300,000.

The promotion is being used to turn an anniversary into something visible at store level. Allwyn said the retailers were chosen for their long-standing partnership with The National Lottery and for the role they play in their local communities, as the company looks to draw attention to scratchcard sales and store traffic at the same time.

The scratchcard business sits inside a much bigger system. Allwyn operates The National Lottery under licence, while the distribution of funds from lottery sales is handled by independent bodies. The company said every one of its 43,500 partners helps raise £33m for National Lottery-funded projects every week, a figure that gives the small coin giveaway a broader financial backdrop.

Southworth said the anniversary campaign was meant to be a fun, engaging moment that rewards standout retail partners and helps generate excitement and footfall. He described the selected outlets as gold standard retailers that go above and beyond in bringing The National Lottery to life in their communities, while stressing that the wider network remains essential to the weekly funding stream.

Stewart said scratching is a satisfying ritual built around anticipation, excitement and a brief moment of hope. She added that people still improvise when they do not have a coin to hand, using keys, cards, rings or even fingernails, but said nothing beats doing it properly. She said she wanted the coin to feel fun, celebratory and full of personality.

The giveaway is limited by design, and that is what gives it its edge. Only 10 retailers are involved, each with 500 coins, so the promotion is likely to disappear quickly once customers begin buying cards on a first-come, first-served basis. For players, the immediate draw is not the coin itself but the chance to pick up a £2 Birthday Scratchcard with a top prize of £300,000.

That is the practical answer to the anniversary campaign: it is meant to celebrate three decades of scratchcards, reward a small group of retailers, and pull customers into stores with a collectible that will not last long. For anyone planning to take part, the clock starts on Saturday, 23 May, and the coins stop when they run out.