Lottery player's dreams shattered as ?118 crore win disappears in app glitch

In an uncommon twist, a British man named Mark Fletcher believed he had won a staggering ?11 million (Rs 1,187,131,281) lottery prize, only to be dejected upon finding he hadn¡¯t purchased a ticket.

'Felt as if I were being put under a lie detector'

As per a report in The Metro, Fletcher verified the numbers on the Lotto app and thought he had hit the jackpot. Elated by his apparent win, Fletcher straight away reached out to Lotto customer support to cross-check his winnings. However, following a frustrating 45-minute phone call, he was repeatedly informed that he was not the winner.

Representational Image

"When I rang them up to check, I was on the phone for 45 minutes, and the woman was adamant I wasn't a winner," Mr Fletcher recounted to The Metro. "Then I asked why it was telling me I'd won and if there was a fault with the app, and they denied that also. I felt as if I were being put under a lie detector. She kept saying, 'You haven't bought that ticket, have you, Mark?'"

Man disheartened with lottery system

The misunderstanding left Fletcher feeling disappointed and disillusioned with the lottery system.

"When people play the Lotto, they think it's a trustworthy service, but I'm doubting that now," he said. "They've not shown any empathy towards me. It has impacted me; I'm left thinking about all the 'what ifs'."

Also Read: Angry Humpback whale capsizes boat off New Hampshire coast with sailors on board

Representational Image

Allwyn, the global lottery operator managing the National Lottery, provided an explanation, clarifying that players can save a set of numbers in their app to check against any draws. However, this does not imply that a ticket has been purchased.

Also Read: This 234-year-old cricket club in England has banned hitting sixes, and you can probably guess the reason

"It has nothing to do with whether a player actually played the numbers or not," a spokesperson stated. "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."

For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.