![Alright folks, so today I found a lottery ticket on the street. Pretty sure it was from a nearby shop. So, what would you do? I'm thinking keep and claim as my own (risky).. buy the same numbers for myself (safer bet). But imagine if it hit the big score?](https://preview.redd.it/sfnpw78f0z9d1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=25100cb5e6cf5468cf24d15e95fd327465b31b48)
Alright folks, so today I found a lottery ticket on the street. Pretty sure it was from a nearby shop. So, what would you do? I'm thinking keep and claim as my own (risky).. buy the same numbers for myself (safer bet). But imagine if it hit the big score?
![Alright folks, so today I found a lottery ticket on the street. Pretty sure it was from a nearby shop. So, what would you do? I'm thinking keep and claim as my own (risky).. buy the same numbers for myself (safer bet). But imagine if it hit the big score?](https://preview.redd.it/sfnpw78f0z9d1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=25100cb5e6cf5468cf24d15e95fd327465b31b48)
And that’s with 5 numbers coming up
Had a mate who scored 4 numbers and a Thunderball. I was so excited for him as he looked up the prize breakdown. Was about £70. Seemed so crap to me.
What is the point of even playing with prizes as shit as that?
Often said that lotteries are just a tax on the poor. You might hit it big, but far more likely you'll just be giving them your cash.
See people spending £20 a week or more on tickets + additional scratchcards who really can't afford to waste that money, in the hope they'll hit it big against the odds.
Any small prizes just get fed back in to more tickets and scratchcards.
Edit: Corrected the saying - poor, not stupid.
my grandad used to (rip) spend an insane amount on lottery tickets multiple times a week, im sure it was around £50 a week at one point
I think a kinder way of thinking about it is a dream tax.
When the euromillions is over £100m, I like to do a lucky dip line and spend an hour thinking about how I would give it out. Got it down to a pretty good trust structure, helping friends and family with mortgages and stuff, plus a monthly income from the interest. Want to set up a not for profit that provides 3rd spaces for people so they can go and not be lonely, but not have to pay to be somewhere. That kind of thing
Yeah exactly. I only do it over £100 million as well. My mate doesn't check his ticket for days afterwards so he can enjoy his fantasies a bit longer.
If i get the email saying I've won something (usually 3.50) I don't check my account until the day after.
Yeah it's a nice feeling innit
I'm the opposite with the euromillions. I'll not play on the big jackpots, only the smaller ones. It's less people to compete against for the raffle, and at least somebody does win that each time.
Same here. My plan is to set up an animal sanctuary. It will primarily be for pets that owners can't keep due to going into hospital/nursing home, homeless through job loss/DV/eviction/whatever reasons, but I'm such a sucker I'll take any animal that needs a warm, comfortable home (except spiders, because I'm terrified of them). I will keep their pets safe until they can go home again, or will rehome if that's what they want. I will have a minibus that will bring people's pets to their nursing home/hospital/hospice (with prior arrangements of course!) so they can see their best friend, or bring them to see their pets. And I'll have a load of armchairs and let people who can't have a pet come and sit with a cat on their lap or dog at their feet and read a book and have a (free) brew.
And I want my own donkey.
I'm the same, currently my train of thought is to build houses and sell them at cost. Although I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have for people, considering you need a decent wedge to buy any house in the first place.
The biggest problem is that those houses will be attempted to be immediately snatched up by big companies that want to profit on them by jacking up the rent.
Well, the idea is that I would be building and selling them so I would tell the big companies to do one. I guess there's very little I could do once I sold them, but at least the profits of a secondary sale would go to a family instead of a big company.
Or keep them and rent them cheaply, just covering the maintenance costs. Give people a chance to save up themselves.
Pretty well what I do. At least as far as having a little dream of what I'd do with it all.
I know there's virtually no chance of winning, the only winners are the Canadian teacher's pension fund who own the lottery these days I believe.
I’d buy a jag
Back in 2011 there was the largest ever Euromillions prize at the time, it was over 100 million. I played online and got an email saying I had won a prize and I needed to login to my account, I was at uni and I was so shocked that I ran all the way home, about 5 miles, I didn't get the bus like I usually would, I just sprinted there, I was so excited. Well when I got home and logged in I found out I was in fact a winner, I had like 3 numbers or something and had only won about £3. I then realised I could have just logged into my account from uni, I felt like I'd been robbed lol. I was imagining all of the things I would buy, it still hurts.
That's how I look at it. When I do actually buy a ticket I spend a few minutes thinking about how I'd spend the money and then probably the same amount again checking if I've won.
15 minutes entertainment for £2.50 isn't that bad these days.
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Well sure but people do actually win the lottery...whereas wishing wells are magic based... 🤔
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Ok but it still does happen so it's in no way like a wishing well.
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That's exactly what it is. I spend the bare minimum on random numbers that will renew automatically. At least 6 times a year I win double of the cost back. I find out when the money is automatically deposited in my bank account. It is dream tax. Cos I sure as hell will never be a millionaire if I don't play. Still unlikely if I do, but there is a tiny chance. That makes the dream of a lovely house with a huge amount of land to grow food on seem just that tiny bit more plausible.
That's how they get you. The more desperate you are, the more you will chase that golden ticket as your only way out. The options to earn a good living are further and further out of reach for alot of people. So those that cannot afford are those that will. Lottery doesn't carry the same gambling stigma as betting etc, so can see how the average person could get sucked into it.
Don't lottery pools help to fund public things? I'm sure I've seen a bunch over the course of my life, like "funded by the national lottery".
In which case you could maybe at a stretch say buying lottery tickets is like giving to charity.
Then again I don't play so who knows.
25% of revenue plus all unclaimed prizes go to good causes.
Of this, at present, 40% is awarded to health, education, environment and charitable causes, 20% to Sports, 20% to Arts and 20% to Heritage
So all the things my taxes should actually be paying for…
If you ignore the 75% lining the pockets of the rich lottery owners.
75% assumes they don’t have any other operating costs, winners or things to pay out.
Looking online, the breakdown is; 53% prizes, 25% charitable causes, 12% tax, 4% ticket sale commissions, 4% operating costs, 1% profits.
Ah my bad I thought the original comment said 25% of profit, not revenue.
Yeah good causes who’s managing the good causes and what spent on what?
Can't speak for others, but lottery funding helped a local farm (part working farm, part attraction) to develop and buy disability friendly play equipment. The farm's whole thing was being as accessible as possible, but specialist play equipment was just too expensive
They got that over 10yrs ago now, and it's still going strong and being played on!
That’s fine but my issue is are these good causes audited in regard to how they chosen what the money spent on or overspending and cost control, those doing the work etc.
Can give a bit more info to that actually
They had to put in a proper bid, costed/drafted up, and iirc it was decided by panel (again it was years ago). Think we had assessors out to the farm, who oversaw the plans, costings, etc. The farm was up against 2 other projects that got to the 'final round', and the result was announced on ITV news.
It was a lot more than "we're a good cause, give us money" but I don't really remember the specifics, being a teenage volunteer there at the time over a decade ago, haha.
Yes, but it's usually poor people who spend on lottery. This makes it an extra tax on the poor. Not great
Tax isn’t optional, playing the lottery is
Well that's simply not true. Nobody makes people buy a ticket.
Nobody makes people buy tickets, that's true. A tax on poor is just a phrase, I didn't really mean that it's a tax.
However, the lottery is marketed as your chance to win big, even though it should be marketed as "you'll spend money and almost surely get nothing out of it". It's the people who are poor and desperate tend to fall for it, not people who have plenty of money. That's why I said it's a "tax on the poor".
IMHO lottery is basically a scam.
I used to smoke, so one day I walk into a tobacconists and wait in line, the lady in front wanted 6 of those scratch cards, 4 of those, 8 euro millions, 4 of another etc, x amount of loose tobacco, a carton of these cigs, 4 packs of those, 4 packs of these. A couple of lighters, 4 chocolate bars.
£280 in utter crap. A week's wages at the times for me for nothing at all of any value or usefulness. Just short term gratification followed by disappointment.
I walked out the door, never bought a lottery ticket or smoked since.
A tax on the poor*
Being poor and desperate may make you DO stupid things but you're not necessarily poor because you're stupid.
Couldn't remember which way round it was, went with the wrong one.
How stupid of me.
Very poor of you, indeed.
I won £1 on a £1 scratch card and have never bought one since
You're supposed to buy another scratch card so you can give them the money back whilst feeling like you won.
She actually asked me if I just wanted another scratchie and I was like nah gis the quid 😆
You fool! That one was the big winner!
My FIL is like this. Luckily he keeps it in check but he does it for the thrill of the “maybe” winning is kinda a bonus.
And tbh I play gacha games. But I try not to spend money and when I do, I generally see it as I’m spending X for this character knowing I’m close to or at pity (guaranteed to get them)
I don’t mind the gacha as long as you keep it in check, and you are likely to get what you want. With the lottery you usually get nothing. If I get cute character for my team I think it’s fine.
Exactly. It’s not gambling if you’re already mentally at “this is what it costs” anything less is a bonus.
I read the "amazing things happen"statement. My first thought was that a lot of people lose a little and the company makes a lot.
Ok charities do too, but only 25%?
Lass I used to work with used to buy loads a week. She'd be buzzing cause she won a fiver, but she'd buy 5 at a time and they were between 1-3 quid each....
I guess she got some enjoyment out of it. But she was always skint....
So big lotto can steal your pennies for thier own pockets 😈
I had a mate who got 5 numbers (and 1 off the 6th) and got a grand.
Knew a family from a really rough part of Glasgow. 4 kids, really struggled, area was a bloody shitehole full of reprobates. Same happened with them. The guy came into college and told us and starred crying. No wonder but.
The prizes used to be a lot better when it was a new thing. Then it was allowed to be sold off to a Canadian hedge fund & they started messing with the formula, doubled the costs & the prizes went to shit. It's weird there was never an outcry about it.
I had a mate that won 5 plus bonus, he got about £85k, which was enough to buy a business and he got himself a house, although I think it was just a big down-payment for that.
Which lottery?
UK national lottery. It was back in the 90s, when the prizes were a bit better spread than they are now.
Okay, was much better then when the numbers range was much lower and a pound a ticket while able to win regular small prizes like a tenner for a pound , then the price of the main doubled and increasing the number range.
I hit 6 out of 7 on the euro millions 2 years ago for ………..£985!!!!!!!!
I matched the wrong 6 out of 7. Four regular numbers and two lucky stars. If I’d matched five numbers and one lucky star I probably would have won around £300,000. Sad times 😂
Guy at my old work got 5 and the bonus ball many years ago and "only" got £50k.
He actually said to the woman on the phone 'is that it?'
If your mate had put £2.50 on a horse and it won, with £70 back to him he would be screaming with joy about it. It’s all perspective, just because you think you could have won more doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.
If the horse won a race with 47,416 other horses racing and I got £70 back, I think I would be a bit disappointed.
33/1 for getting 5 out of 6 lottery numbers sounds shite to me.
I got 4 numbers on the regular lottery a few month back. Rolled down jackpot week too.
Had grand visions of some upgrades for the car on seeing the numbers.
£194.
Only time I got 4 numbers up on normal lotto I got quid.was gutted as week before mate got nearly 80.
First of all the prize win for a Match 4 alone is £100, so either your friend read it wrong or fooled you.
To walk you through the math behind the prizes, here goes:
The main 5 numbers are picked from 1-39, whilst the 1 thunderball number is picked from 1-14
The probability of getting 4 numbers right out of 5 from 39 = 5C4 * 34C1 / 39C5 = 0.03%
Now getting 4 numbers right out of 5 + TB is no mean feat, but it still gives a 100X multiplier on a £1 investment, which isn't too bad! And not just one winner, there would be multiple players who'd get 4 numbers out of 5 correct, so terming it as "Poor people's tax" etc sounds absurd for someone who hasn't actually run the numbers behind it.
Lotto and Euromillions dispense higher Jackpots but the odds of hitting the jackpot are also low. (1 in 45 Million) but if you look at the return (let's say £100M for a £ 2.5 ticket) it is 40,000,000X return. How does that sound?
A friend of mine got five numbers and won £370. Absolutely ridiculous.
Got to dream. That’s the selling point of the lottery. Nobody said anything about winning.
That's the selling point of gambling in general.
You say that, but once I accidentally bought a lottery ticket at Aldi. The person in front of me bought one and the cashier for whatever reason added one to my shopping too. They were having to call over a manager to cancel it so i said you know what I'll just take it maybe it'll be lucky.
Point is, I didn't win anything. but it was fun to dream about becoming a millionaire in that scenario, I'd have shared a bit of it with that cashier.
You just destroyed your chance of options one and two mate
I'd rather the guilt free reward anyway.
The universe just awarded you some Karma
Universe leaves OP a winning lottery ticket in the street.
Don't spend it all at once!
Totally agree, sad to see the downvotes, honesty is an underrated quality these days it seems.
On Reddit you are most likely to get ‘well it probably belongs to a millionaire landlord anyway’
Hands it into police. I believe if they can’t find the owner within 28 days, you can claim it. Guilt free, and potentially rich.
Good luck.
I'd probably make a list of all the bad karma you've ever earned, just to be safe.
It's an older reference, but I like it!
his namen is brian.....
Hey Brian
Hey Lobster Man
Fantastic.
well done sir!
You know the kinda guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realized I had to change. So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done, and one by one I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is u/-iamai-
Oh snap!
Oh, chasquido!
Someone once stole my wallet from my back pocket it had £1200 which was my rent money house sharing for 3 months. So I earned a little karma from that
Its not a lucky ticket. Someone lost it
No it's already had a run of bad luck so there's no way it could be due more. I got a good feeling about this ticket.
Find a lottery ticket - straight to jail.
Play numbers that are not your own - also jail.
Don't know how you'd even trace the owner, or verify someone's claim to it yourself. But yes, I'd buy the same numbers. Either you get to keep it all. Or if you see any publicly about someone losing their winning ticket, you could give them it back but will both get a share of a big win.
They're really good at checking this kind of stuff because you get shop keepers telling people they lost then taking the winnings themselves, I'd imagine they have a department dedicated to it
Shouldn’t be possible with the machines we have, you cannot mute that sound that plays when a ticket wins, you should always be able to hear if you’ve won or not. Also all numbers can be checked online before taking back to a shop
CCTV I'd imagine of them purchasing it.
How would you know it was those numbers in the cctv?
Would just compare time of purchase to the time stamp on the video footage
Ah yeah, that makes sense
Dont think theres a time of purchase on lottery tickets
If not on the ticket, it'll be in a database associated with the ticket id for Camelot to check
Camelot aren't running the lottery anymore. New guys don't seem to go through the extra effort to give away money if the stories are anything to go by.
It's my ticket, I can prove it by telling you which numbers I played.
Just wait a month or two before claiming and the footage will be deleted.
As long as it’s not 4 8 15 16 23 42 you should be good 👍
Last night as I was lying in bed falling asleep I made a meaningless pact to myself that I would start playing the lottery every week using these numbers.
Got to love a bit of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.
Recognised these numbers immediately but couldn't place them at first 😅
What are they please, I'm lost and confused lol
I’m also Lost.
The jokes been Lost on you.
That's my ticket, can I have it back?
Nice thanks for the number suggestions
I wouldn’t worry an about tracking the owner OP. Camelot has got procedures in place incase you loose a winning ticket. If the rightful owner fill out all the details Camelot ask for, then they shouldn’t have any issue claiming the prize.
You’re correct. However just worth pointing out that Camelot no longer run the lottery
And I keep on hearing stories of Allwyn not paying out on big lottery wins without proof of purchase
If the ticket was a big winner, they’ll do checks to make sure you bought it.
Buy another ticket and double your chances! (runs from thread before the maths lads get here)
"amazing things happen when a lot of people are financially illiterate and believe playing the lottery is a decent use of money."
There's a lady I see in my local Tesco and she's always buying lotto tickets and scratch cards, she's probably in her 60's and seems quite poor. People play the lottery out of sheer desperation, not because they have spare money lying around or because they want to help fund projects in their local community.
I remember a survey from years ago where I think it said something like 85% of people who play the lottery / scratch cards are on benefits or low income earners. The people who can least afford it are most likely to play.
It's harsh to put this down to financial illiteracy alone. No one thinks that playing the lottery is a good investment. You pay the money as an entrance fee to the daydream of "what if."
The reason poor people play more is because that daydream holds more value to them and their situation is more desperate.
Same reason poor people drink and smoke more. Yes, you can objectively look at those things as a waste of money. But if you're not drastically going to improve your life with the few quid you waste on indulgences then it's hard to think of a good reason not to enjoy yourself a bit and have some escapism.
I hate the “tax on financially illiterate” stuff that goes around every time the lottery comes up on Reddit.
Anyone who thinks as much doesn’t understand risk/reward, it’s extremely low risk but with mind boggling reward potential. I know it’s got way more psychology than that in it, but calling people who play the lottery financially illiterate is pure snobbery.
If I ask you for £2 for a 1/10 chance to win £10, hopefully you can see why it's a bad bet.
The lottery is the exact same, you will spend more money on tickets than you get back. That's why people say that, because they do understand risk/reward.
The reward isn’t £10 though, it’s potentially millions. You can’t just scale it down. £10 won’t change my life so why would I risk my £2 for it, even if the odds of me winning that £10 is way higher than winning millions.
You don’t play lottery for expectations. You play for variance. Nothing wrong with that.
They need to make a scratch card where one outcome is a kick in the nards. Gotta love those swings.
As others have said I think you're viewing this in the wrong way.
I am part of a lottery syndicate at work and also buy a couple of £1 scratch cards a month. I quite like both options. I'm not much in to gambling and like that the lottery funds things like sports development programs, if I have £5 and my meal deal amd a pint of milk comes to like £4 I don't really have qualms with paying that £1 for a little bit of excitement from a scratch card. With the syndicate it's more so something I enjoy talking about with my colleagues.
Whilst true, they are also probably the most deserving of remarkable luck
They always say to sign your ticket and make it yours so if the back isn't completed then it's fair game.
Also remember it's 2 lines for 2 draws so if you don't win on the first one don't chuck it out.
Not exactly fair game. There was a case a few years ago when I lived in Swindon where someone found a ticket on the floor in a shop and claimed the winnings. They stupidly boasted about it to all and sundry, and were shopped to the police iirc. They went to court and CCTV footage used to show they'd not purchased the ticket so were claiming the winnings fraudulently.
ETA: found this article... It was longer ago than I realised! https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/18/stolen-lottery-ticket-couple-sentenced
It’s good for 4 draws as well
In the US, they would question you about where you bought it.
You'd need proof of purchase if you won I think.
50% chance of winning big.
You either win or you don't.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding
Theft Act 1968
In the UK, a theft occurs when there is a dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive. This definition can therefore include property that is found, whether abandoned or incorrectly delivered, where the finder does not take appropriate steps to return it to the lawful owner.
Can't wait until this wins and everyone in this thread claims it.
Oh, has tonight's been drawn?
Edit: Still not a winner, Friday and Saturday to go though
American here - curious how they know who bought it. Is there identifying information on the ticket? In the US, there is no identifying information, and lottery tickets are treated as cash - property of the holder (unless it is signed on the back).
Ok found the answer, in UK national lottery the person who paid for the ticket is the only person who can claim
If you find it, you will be guilty of fraud
The only legal option is to say you found it and wait to see if anyone claims it, if not it’s yours
If the prize is over a certain amount they will ask you certain verification questions before they'll pay out. Like where you bought the draw ticket/scratch card and when (they obviously know, but they're seeing if you know). They will also verify CCTV from the time of the purchase to see if the person making the claim is the person who bought the draw ticket or scratch card. It's in the terms of being a lottery vendor that you must have CCTV, facing the customers, behind any lottery terminal or counter where scratch cards are sold and footage must be kept for long enough to satisfy the claim period (winners can typically claim draw prizes up to six months after a draw, or up to six months after a scratch card game ends/stops being sold).
This protects winners from having a big prize stolen and any 'unpleasantness' that may arise from anyone who wants to steal your ticket forcibly. You could also say that it's a cynical extra step to avoid having to pay out on prizes, like if someone loses their ticket and someone else finds it and tries to claim, but that's not the case, the operators don't get to keep any unclaimed/unpaid prizes, they have to go the good causes fund by law as part of their operating license.
That’s a good question and I can’t find the exact answer but will get back to you as I’m curious myself
The odds of winning are compared to filling a hollowed out Wembley Stadium with footballs. You go to a random door and the winning football falls into your hand.
What?
It's an analogy. Approx 139 million to one.
How much did you win?
It's not been drawn yet
So you could have said nothing about a lottery ticket that only one person in the world is missing, but instead you chose to share it on reddit for what reason?
Clout
So clout is now "I found a lottery ticket"? World gets stranger every day.
Mad isn't it?
I'm going to see if I can find a piece of gum or a half smoked cigarette or something and then I can make a post also../s.
I saw a battery on the road outside. One of those little button batteries. I bet there's a story in that.
Lucky bastard! Can we say we both found it?
Yeah deffo, but what we'll do is say we both found it, but allude to us both finding it as not entirely true, and then about halfway through the YouTube series where we track down the owner it can be a source of drama that slowly burns away at the camaraderie from underneath. Like loc-tite for the eyeballs.
It’s not a winner, just keep it!
I’d do exactly what you said, buy the same numbers, keep a note of where I found it/when and cross my fingers. Who knows, could be nothing, could be a winner but it’s a bit of excitement and balls to what anyone else thinks. Have a great day.
It won't
If it is a winner, send to whoever does the lottery these days, and they will keep it for 6 months, I think, and if the person doesn’t come forward they will send you the money. I have done this a couple of times, better than a criminal record if you get caught!
Just use the £8 to buy something that makes you more happy than loosing £8 with nothing to show? I have never lost the lottery, my spending is at least equal to winnings because i don’t do the lotto! I say at least because I have got tickets in the past just they were got for me as presents. So I only stood to win something. The lottery is something they con the poor into falling for. Your odds are… well you already know I’m sure. Grain of rice in many bath tubs full type thing.
What's this new thread title meme
I spend £20 per month on lottery and £30 per month on Omaze and a few quid here and there on scratch cards and that’s the limit for my gambling
I just write a few random numbers on a bit of paper just before a draw if I happen to be watching the telly at the time. Numbers have never come up and I have saved whatever a ticket costs these days. There's also the excitement and nervousness of thinking about what if the numbers did come up and statistically I will never have such luck again.
If you won a large prize they would ask for proof of purchase and where you bought the ticket from
You won't be able to cash it if it wins. AFAIK they check sales records before any payout.
The biggest procrastination to have ever happened here, OP.
Besides, the chances are the same as you getting your own ticket with it's own numbers.
I'd only worry about it if it was a winner.
Well if you found it, it's fate that you keep it. I think anyway
Unless there is a way to identify the buyer (say via a debit card or some other way, I would suggest keep it and if it wins, give half of whatever you get (£5 to a million) to various charities like British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s, can set treatment for children. That way you have something and you are blessing others with what you’ve been blessed with.
£8 for lottery ticket?! It used to be £1 you have to have a seriouse problem if you're buying them, its worse than slots.
This post adds context to another post that hit my timeline earlier about a bra and was very confusing.
If it by shear chance won a large sum of money I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be allowed to claim it. I think doing so might even be an illegal act.
Copy pasting my comment from above for everyone to read. Specially for everyone who thinks lottery is shit, it isn't.
To walk you through the math behind the prizes, here goes:
The main 5 numbers are picked from 1-39, whilst the 1 thunderball number is picked from 1-14
The probability of getting 4 numbers right out of 5 from 39 = 5C4 * 34C1 / 39C5 = 0.03%
Now getting 4 numbers right out of 5 + TB is no mean feat, but it still gives a 100X multiplier on a £1 investment, which isn't too bad! And not just one winner, there would be multiple players who'd get 4 numbers out of 5 correct, so terming it as "Poor people's tax" etc sounds absurd for someone who hasn't actually run the numbers behind it.
Lotto and Euromillions dispense higher Jackpots but the odds of hitting the jackpot are also low. (1 in 45 Million) but if you look at the return (let's say £100M for a £ 2.5 ticket) it is 40,000,000X return. How does that sound?
Add to that, they also donate a fixed proportion of the revenue to good causes across the UK.
Not bought a lottery ticket or a scratch card since I gave up smoking. I never nip into the shop anymore
You’ll be able to claim any low-ish win no problem.
If it is win that you have to actually phone up to claim, then you might run into issues.
I am fairly sure that if it is a big winning ticket and you claim it and the “original owner” comes forward to say it is theirs that you will lose the winnings
They know where and when a ticket was bought and can check the shops cctv these days to know who bought it.
That said if it is a low prize winning ticket then you might be ok to claim it.
Personally I stopped doing the lottery because of the prizes are so crappy these days. I mean you hardly win a fortune for 5 balls these days (£1750) yet the odds on them coming up are massively against you.
It costs £8 to play the lottery now????!!!!!
Reading comprehension at an all time low
Ah. I hadn’t zoomed in at all 🙈😂
If whoever bought it used their debit card to buy the ticket and you claim on it - the National Lottery will know it's not yours and you'll go to prison for fraud.
If they bought it with cash, you're all good.
Mate, you are 1,000,000 times more likely to be hit by lightning on the way to the shop than it be a winning ticket. Chilax 😄
Buy the same numbers and rip up that ticket
Imagine if it hit the big score? It won't.
I'll bet you the full value of the ticket on that.
First draw happened, £0 won
So first draw happened (it’s the thunderball)
2 numbers matched 0 won
I had a go on the Euromillions a couple of months back and won £2.40, worst thing is the Ticket cost £2.50 to Buy! 😂
Moderator removed comment
12h
Hi mate, this post is against the lighthearted and open nature of the sub.
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In what way is it risky?
The rightful owners would come looking for a big win ticket and it's criminal
Watch the 2001 movie finders fee . That might help with your decision.
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2d
Sorry mate, but we have a blanket ban against politics in this sub, so we have removed this post.
Rule 1: No politics We do not allow mention of political events, politicians or general political chit chat in this subreddit. We encourage you to take this content to a more suitable subreddit. You will be banned if you break this rule.
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If it's your ticket let me know the location and I'll send you a bottle of wine.
Edit: I'm actually leaning to it feeling cheeky to use the numbers, keep the ticket and be that good samaritan after the lotto people find the true identity of said ticket holder.
Edit 2: FFS.. you all taking it very seriously! It was a half joke post. Yes I found it, no I don't care if it wins and yes I would give it to the rightful owner regardless of reward, hope a penny or two would drop but cest la vie and all if not!
If I had an idea of what shop it might've come from I'd probably pop in and ask if they had someone buy a lottery ticket recently and hope they have cctv or knew the person who bought it. Failing that, I suppose there isn't much you can do other than wait and see if it's a winner. Chances are it probably won't be, but I'd like to do my best to try and find the person who bought it.
Hand it into the police station. If not claimed in 6months it's yours. Not sure how close that will be for claiming the prize though
OP, you’re stressing way too much when it will likely be worth £0.