Lotto

Lotto scratchcard ‘fury’ but no mention of the Health Lottery

The Daily Star picks up the sound of “punters’ fury at Lotto card Farce”.

Those “angry punters” have branded the National Lottery a “rip -off”. The Star says “nearly a quarter” and “most of the top prizes” on Lotto’s 42 scratch card games currently on sale offer prizes that have already been won. “What a waste of money,” says one unnamed gambler, without irony.

We do hear from Camelot, which operates the cards. “There are only two scratchcard on sale that have no top prizes remaining. No new packs of these scratchcards can be put on sale.”

That seems fair.

What seems a little less fair is that the Daily Star does not mention that its owner (Richard Demond) is chairman of Northern & Shell, parent company of the Health Lottery, a Lotto rival which sells virtual scratchcards for online games. How it deals with scratchcards after the top prizes have been claimed is not mentioned.

We called the Health Lottery to ask them. Calls to The Health Lottery Helpline are charged at 7p per minute plus your telephone provider’s access charge. It took 59 seconds for us to be able to press ‘4’ to speak with an advisor.

We were directed to the Ts and Cs. They tells us:

The result of each Instant Lottery Game shall be pre-determined at the time of purchase and shall not include any element of skill. The Health Lottery Computer System will determine prizes based on the probabilities and not from a limited pool of prizes…

The chances of winning a Prize will be exactly the same at the point of purchase and shall not be affected by previous wins in the same Game or other Prizes previously paid in other Instant Lottery Games . The advertised prize structure shall remain in place at all times, with each prize tier always available for a win as the Instant Lottery Games do not use a limited pool.

It’s different system to the Lotto, then. Whether or not it’s any fairer is moot. Both systems are after all, odds-based punts.

Anorak

Posted: 25th, August 2017 | In: Money, News, Tabloids | Comment

Susanne Hinte: 10 years prison, £33m and a ‘dodgy’ Scratchcard

“Lotto rotters” who claim to have won the National Lottery’s £33m jackpot can be jailed for 10 years , says the Daily Star. So far, over 400 people say they hold the winning ticket, including seven from the very shop where Susanne Hinte, 48, says she bought a winning ticket she inadvertently put through the wash.

Of course, no-one will be jailed for 10 years for lying about winning the big prize. The Star cites the rules on Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception. It’s there in Section 16 Theft Act 1968. The CPS states: “Statutory Limitations & Maximum Penalty: 5 years imprisonment.”

There are no laws covering writing utter balls on the cover of a national newspapers. If there were, the Star could be rivalling Inside Time’s circulation.

The Mail has more on “mother-of-two Susanne Hinte”. It shows readers the ‘winning’ ticket. The six winning numbers are clearly visible but a small tear has ruined the part which says what draw the ticket was purchased for.

You can see the ticket on the Sun’s front page. It is “Not The Full Ticket”, which is a phrase usually fired at someone whose not all there, a bit doolally.

We hear from a “pal” of Susanne’s who says, “I don’t think it’s genuine”, which sounds a bit like, “I hope that jammy cow doesn’t win.” This “pal” is soon revealed to be a “ex-friend” who claims Susanne’ “tried to claim a £200 prize on a ‘dodgy’ Camelot scratchcard she said had damaged when it dropped in a puddle.”

She didn’t win then. And the “pal” is praying she doesn’t win now.

Anorak

Posted: 27th, January 2016 | In: Reviews | Comment

Leeds Grandma Wins Lotto Jackpot: Grandkids Burst With Love

GREAT-grandmother Helen Walker, from Kippax, Leeds, was with her husband Stan at a press conference in Garforth, near Leeds today after she won £1.466,667 on the Lotto jackpot on Saturday.