Amelia Barnham won the National Lottery in the draw on February 3. However, she declares herself “furious” because she is still waiting to receive her latest winnings, equivalent to more than 900 euros (800 pounds sterling) even though she only paid one pound for her winning ticket. In the past, the 69-year-old grandmother has won more than 23,000 pounds in small prizes, according to information provided by Daily Express, or around 27,000 euros.
This player who spends “60 pounds a week on tickets”, according to the daily The Mirror, has won the lottery so often that she finally received private investigators at her home three times since the British lottery, estimating that ‘she wins too frequently, decided to investigate about her.
The resident of Hammersmith (west London) went to the Post Office in her town, before being sent back to the Tesco supermarket, where she had acquired her winning ticket. Once there, it was explained to her that she had to send photos of both sides of the ticket to the new operator of the game since the rules had changed. Indeed, the Camelot lotto company was replaced by another, Allwyn, on February 1. Her husband Tony Barhamet sent the photos and then was told that an investigator and former police detective was going to come to their home to understand the origin of his regular winning draws.
“It made me very uncomfortable and upset,” she confided to The Sun, before telling the Daily Express that she had been treated “like some kind of criminal.” However, the National Lottery has declared that “all” of its players are “very important” and that it strives to “provide them with as positive an experience as possible”. The English Lottery also said it was “sorry to learn of Ms Barnham’s concerns”, saying it would “contact her” to resolve the problem.
The investigation is “ridiculous” according to the investigator, who worked 30 years for the region’s police. In her “anger”, the mother of three thinks that the behavior of the lottery operators towards her risks “dissuading people from buying tickets”. The Briton promises The Sun that she will “never buy tickets again” if this kind of difficulty arises again. The final answer should come in “about a week” according to what the investigator said to Amelia Barnham.