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AND one couple reveal the EuroMillions nightmare mistake which they say cost them a life-changing fortune
WE’VE all dreamt of winning the EuroMillions jackpot, pinning our hopes on that all-important £2.50 ticket.
But do you know the crucial deadlines and rules to follow which could see you losing out on a massive win? Top lottery experts reveal all you need to know ahead of a huge £74million EuroMillions game tonight.
The jackpot reached this level after it rolled over in recent draws.
In the most recent draw on October 31, the winning numbers were: 05, 14, 38, 43, 45 and the Lucky Stars were: 07, 11.
Players will now have another chance to play tonight with a £74million up for grabs.
Millions of us buy a EuroMillions ticket each week, battling it out against other players to try and win a huge windfall.
You pick five numbers from 1-50 and two lucky stars from 1-12, or you can choose a lucky dip – which is when the numbers are randomly selected for you.
But are you aware of the important game rules you need to follow? If you don’t, you could jeopardise your chance of scooping a monster prize.
Here, we speak to top lottery experts about all the EuroMillions small print you may not know about.
Make sure you gamble responsibly and only gamble with money you can afford to lose. Set a money limit before playing.
Winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize – otherwise, they lose the lot, explains lottery expert and blogger known as Lottery Guy (lottery-guy.com).
He chooses to remain anonymous but has been running his Lottery Guy blog since 2004, where he dishes out tips to help players win big.
He says: “You’ve got six months from the draw date to claim – after that, even a jackpot is gone for good.
“A £63.8 million win went unclaimed in 2012.”
Simon Horne, from Allwyn UK, the National Lottery operator which runs Euromillions in the UK, says: “It does occasionally happen and then any prize money goes towards good causes supported by the National Lottery and Euromillions.”
When a major prize – more than £50,000 – isn’t claimed, Allwyn launches a publicity blitz in the area where the ticket was bought.
This is the case in the London borough of Barnet, where Allwyn tried reuniting a lucky ticket holder with a £106,738.50 Euromillions win.
However, because the prize was left unclaimed, the winnings will now go to National Lottery good causes.
Meanwhile, one EuroMillions player in Fife in Scotland, has until December 10 to claim £3,613,887.
Another player, who bought their ticket in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales in April 2024, missed out on £1 million after the deadline for claiming passed in October. Their UK Millionaire Maker winnings went to charity instead.
Lottery Guy says: “Always check your ticket, and don’t chuck any away without checking them properly.”
YOU'VE got to be in it to win it.
Every time you buy a ticket the odds of winning increase.
But WARNING – only spend what you can afford. At the end of the day, it’s down to luck.
This is why some people prefer to be part of a syndicate, where multiple tickets are bought.
While this means you’ll have to share the pot, the odds become more favourable each ticket you buy.
You think your numbers have come up, you’ve upended the house, but you still can’t find your ticket. What can you do?
You need to act fast, as Lottery Guy explains: “If your ticket gets ruined, lost or even stolen, you have to tell Allwyn within 30 days of the draw — or you lose your chance, no matter what.”
If you report the loss within that time frame, Allwyn will try to pay out your prize.
It will investigate to work out whether you are the rightful ticket holder, asking questions such as where you bought the ticket and whether it was your own numbers or a Lucky Dip.
Simon says: “If you’ve bought the ticket, we want to try and find a way to be able to get you your prize.
“We’d investigate and then if no one else had come forward after 180 days, we have discretion to award you the prize, even without a ticket.”
Back in 2001, Martyn Tott from Watford, Hertfordshire, missed out on a £3m lottery jackpot after he lost his ticket.
When the purchasing manager, then 25, and his wife Kay realised they had won, they couldn’t find the ticket.
Because the couple hadn’t registered the lost ticket within 30 days, they lost out on the lot and sadly their marriage broke down shortly after.
A lottery syndicate is when a group of people club together and put money into a pot for lottery tickets.
One person will be in charge of buying the tickets and sharing out the winnings. They are called the syndicate manager.
It makes a lot of sense to join a syndicate. It should increase your chance of winning something because you’re usually buying a lot more tickets – and of course, the only real way you can boost your chances of winning is to buy more tickets.
In fact, around one in five top prizes are won by syndicates.
But it’s important to know a very important rule when it comes to syndicates – only one person, the syndicate manager, is paid.
They are responsible for divvying out the winnings.
To avoid problems, Simon urges players to draw up an agreement and make everyone sign it.
He says: “Then if there’s any complications down the line, everyone knows where they stand.”
Technically, whoever bought the ticket is the owner.
So, think carefully before sending someone to the shop to get it for you.
Lottery Guys says: “Asking a friend or partner to grab your ticket? Be careful — if it wins, there’s nothing to stop them claiming it for themselves.
“Money can do strange things to people.”
Even if you’ve bought it yourself, you can take steps to make sure no one else claims it as theirs.
“For extra protection, write your name on the back of the ticket as soon as you buy it.
“Hardly anyone does this, but if there’s no name on it, they have to assume the person who has the ticket is the rightful owner.
“Unless someone comes forward to dispute the claim, they will pay out to that person who has the ticket.”
This might also help if you drop it, someone else finds it, or it gets stolen.
Winning the lottery should be life-changing, but it can also be a loser’s game if couples split up.
Rachel Spencer Robb, a partner in family law with Clarion Solicitors, says: “If one person in a marriage buys a winning ticket, the money is technically theirs.
“But if they later split up, the winnings should go into the pot of assets to be shared.”
That doesn’t mean they’ll automatically be split half and half. Lots of factors are considered, so one person could end up with less.
It’s also a different matter for the quarter of couples who live together but aren’t married.
Then, the person who didn’t buy the ticket isn’t legally entitled to a penny if they split up.
Rachel says: “It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been together, there’s no such thing as a common law husband or wife.
“One way around this is to sign a Living Together Agreement when you are still a couple, which lays out who gets what in the event of a split.”
Rachel says it is sensible for anyone playing the lottery or Euromillions with a partner, married or not, to draw up this little-known agreement or at least have some discussions about how any win would be split.
It may sound over the top, but with more than four in ten marriages ending in divorce, it’s a smart move.
Rachel says: “Leaving a paper trail showing the specifics of what you intended or agreed can be very helpful if your relationship changes.”
STUDENTS Rachel Kennedy and Liam McCrohan had all the winning numbers for a £182m EuroMillions prize – but lost it all over a direct debit error.
The couple received a message on their National Lottery app saying they had a “winning match” for the EuroMillions prize draw.
But they were left “absolutely heartbroken” when they called to claim the pot and were told their Direct Debit payment had been declined.
Rachel, who was studying business at Brighton University at the time, didn’t have enough cash in her bank account to pay the £2.50 charge.
Rachel told the Sun: “I called the number thinking I’d won £182million and they said, ‘Yeah, you’ve got the right numbers but you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket so it didn’t go through’.”
Liam, who was studying economics at the University of Hertfordshire, added: “I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car.
“I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.”
If you leave it to the last minute, then there’s a risk that you run out of time to buy your ticket.
Lottery Guy says: “You’ve got to buy your ticket before 7:30pm on draw nights, which are Tuesday and Friday for EuroMillions.
“Anything after that goes into the next draw — even if it’s just one minute late.”
Simon warns against rushing into the newsagents or loading up your app at 7:25pm.
“It gets a lot busier in shops and online, especially just before a big draw.
“You might find yourself stuck in a queue or unable to find your bank card.
“We don’t want people to miss out on the chance to win a big prize, so allow yourself enough time.”
Having an online account to buy regular EuroMillions tickets makes sense for some.
It means you don’t miss a draw, never lose a ticket, and you’ll be automatically notified if you win.
It works by setting up a Direct Debit so a set amount comes out of your bank account.
Winnings of less than £50,000 will then automatically be paid in.
But, be warned, you have to have sufficient funds in your account for a Direct Debit to be taken.
If that’s not the case, you may not be entered into the draw.
Lottery Guy says: “If the payment fails, you didn’t buy a ticket, simple as that.
“If it was because of an error by Allwyn then they would investigate and probably find in your favour.
“But not for insufficient funds – that’s 100% the player’s responsibility.”
Students Rachel Kennedy and Liam McCrohan missed out on £182 million in 2021.
Rachel’s account was set up to automatically buy a EuroMillions ticket with her usual numbers but because her account did not have the right funds, the ticket payment did not go through.
QUIT your job, travel round the world, buy a private island… what would you do with £74million?
You’d better get planning, there are ways to boost your chances of walking away with the ENTIRE EuroMillions prize.
Never pick the ‘right’ numbers
Statistically, each number has an equal chance of being drawn.
That means that there are no numbers which are more likely to help you win.
The trick is to pick numbers that players are least likely to pick.
One of the main ways that you can avoid picking other people’s numbers is to pick numbers on the left of the grid, and avoid those on the right.
That’s because studies show that people naturally gravitate towards the right-hand side.
Avoid birthday numbers
It may be tempting to pick yours and your loved one’s birthday dates as your main numbers with the hope they bring you luck.
But the Lottery Guy said it’s best to avoid this tactic.
That’s because there will be a greater number of people picking numbers 1-31.
“Avoiding these numbers doesn’t increase your chance of winning, but if you do win, you’re much less likely to split the prize with other winners.”
Pick ‘unpopular’ numbers
Statistically, each number has an equal chance of winning, which means there are no “lucky” numbers you can pick to boost your chances.
But Lottery Guy said a good idea would be to pick “unpopular” numbers in your ticket.
Unpopular numbers are those which run from 32-50, because they fall outside of the birthday date numbers.
It makes sense to choose these numbers, because fewer players will be picking them.
That means that if you win a share of the winnings, there will be fewer people with the same unpopular numbers on their ticket.
Play on Tuesdays
You have to be in it to win it, so if you want the chance of scooping a jackpot, you must buy a ticket.
But certain days are better than others to buy a ticket.
Lottery Guy said Tuesday is actually the best day to buy a ticket over Friday.
He said: “With EuroMillions, Friday is the much more popular day, so you’ve got more competition on a Friday.
“Consider focusing on the Tuesday draw if you want to keep more of that jackpot for yourself.”
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