A man from England says that the country’s National Lottery app pinged him a message that he had won an £11 million jackpot, only to refuse him the prize.
When Fletcher, 49, called the Lottery to talk about claiming his prize, staff told him he hadn’t bought a ticket. Instead, they said, he had mistaken a notification from the saved numbers feature for a prize-winning alert.
The odds of predicting all six numbers for the jackpot prize on the June 29 draw, as he did, were 41 million to one.
The National Lottery’s tagline is “you’ve got to be in it to win it,” and apparently he was not. However, Fletcher is adamant that the Lottery has done him a disservice.
“When people play the Lotto, they think it’s a trustworthy service, but I’m doubting that now. They’ve not shown any empathy towards me,” he said, speaking to local British newspaper Wigan Today.
“It has impacted me – I’m left thinking about all the ‘what ifs.’ If they’ve told me I’ve won, but in actual fact I’ve won nothing, it’s a bit cruel and I’ve had sleepless nights.”
The Victory (Or Not)
Lotto staff explained to the disappointed dad of one that he had previously saved a selection of numbers without buying a ticket at that time. It was those saved numbers that would have won the July 29 draw, which gave him a notification that he would have had a winning match.
“Players can select any set of ‘my numbers’, save these in their app account, and then go into the app and check them against any previous draw.
“It has nothing to do with whether a player actually played the numbers or not – and, in this case, the player did not play this set of six numbers via his online account for the draw on June 29, or indeed in any draws prior to the draw on June 29 taking place.”
Winning Error
Fletcher is not the only person in the world of gambling who alleges they were notified of a big win, only for the operator to tell them otherwise.
Earlier in 2024, a woman from New Jersey says she hit a $1.2 million jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at Bally Atlantic City.
Roney Beal, 72, immediately began celebrating as she called for staff to claim her prize. However, when the slot attendant arrived, they investigated the machine and determined it had experienced an error. Bally’s staff then told her they would not be paying out.
Beal says she intends to file a lawsuit over the incident, claiming an extra $1 million in damages for distress.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
