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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to stop playing the National Lottery after the ticket price rises?

63 replies

Tw1nkle · 21/01/2013 15:27

I struggle to justify the £18 a month I pay now(2 lines, sat & wed).......so no way will I be able to afford the £36 a month it will go up to in the Autumn!

I think I'm going to stop playing altogether! I know my numbers though - so I'll never be able to watch again!!!

I also never seem to see any of the 'good causes' that they talk about......

OP posts:
SoleSource · 21/01/2013 22:32

Write your name and address on tickets.

FannyBazaar · 21/01/2013 22:32

I think you are being unreasonable for asking this. Is there a reason why you have to do it? Is there a reason for watching the show, does it contain anything else?

Ragwort · 21/01/2013 22:37

Totally agree MarianneM - I remember buying a ticket the very first week, great excitement, sat down to watch the 'draw' or whatever it is on TV, haven't bought another one since Grin - do people really spend that much money on lottery tickets? Hmm.

Actually they probably do, desperately icy and dangerous where we live today, I was staggering back from a doctor's appointment when an elderly lady was trying to cross the road, looking very unstable, but clutching a lottery ticket in her hand - perhaps she had won millions !!

pluCaChange · 21/01/2013 22:44

Lotteries depress me. The very conceot is regressive, unlike taxes, which are universal, but which also serve broader needs than those of just the lucky few.

2rebecca · 21/01/2013 23:26

It's a voluntary tax, you don't need an excuse to stop paying it.

popcornpaws · 21/01/2013 23:56

3 numbers will now win you £25 instead of £10, however, the more numbers you have, the less you will win, I think the 5 numbers and 5 plus the bonus ball prizes are the two that have halved in value.
So although there is a price increase...

HecateWhoopass · 22/01/2013 06:29

Sad thing is, it is people like the OP, who 'struggle' to find the money for their lottery line who are the most likely to play.

because they dream of not having to struggle to find a couple of quid.

It's not stupid, ridiculous, whatever. It's desperate.

I've been there.

That £1 dream that maybe, just maybe, you won't have to try to feed your kids for £25 next week.

Even though you know you don't stand a chance because the odds are about seventy million against you! Grin

WMittens · 22/01/2013 14:16

It's a voluntary tax, you don't need an excuse to stop paying it.

That's an oxymoron, a tax is levied by a state and is mandatory. What is all this "it's a tax" nonsense? If it's voluntary, it's not a tax, by definition.

cumfy · 22/01/2013 14:27

I've always thought of it more as stigma-free gambling than a tax.

But yes it is a tax.

WMittens · 22/01/2013 14:42

No it's not a tax. Look up what 'tax' actually means, then look up "for-profit organisation".

RuleBritannia · 22/01/2013 14:57

WMittens I agree. When it was time for the was it a franchise to be renewed, Virgin tried to win the running of the Lottery on a not-for-profit basis. Virgin was turned down. Is there a campaign against Virgin winning anything? What about the West Coast line (London to Glasgow and onwards)? Virgin did a very good job during its franchise time and is still doing it during this period of 'no man's land' time since it was rejected in favour of another company last year.

I reminds me of Freddie Laker who started an airline (Laker Airways) to rival British Airways. His airline was brought to its knees because of the way things were run in the airline industry. If it hadn't been for Freddie Laker's efforts, we would not have Virgin Atlantic now. Bring on Richard Branson!

cumfy · 22/01/2013 15:23

VAT is a tax. It can be avoided by not purchasing the good so taxed.

Similarly one can avoid the tax component (ie the good causes) of the lottery by not purchasing it.

No-one is claiming the lottery is an official tax.

sarahtigh · 22/01/2013 15:28

taxes can be voluntary like road tax, you do not have to have a car

VAT is only payable on something if you buy it, if you don't buy you don't pay; a bit like a lottery ticket

but as so much goes to the government some of it is like a tax, sales tax

it is like a kind of tax, it has also been called a tax on the poor

pluCaChange · 22/01/2013 15:49

Not all "taxes" are levied by a central or local government. As sarahtigh and cumfy have indicated, it's being used in a metaphorical sense here.

CrispyHedgeHogmanay · 22/01/2013 15:54

I haven't done it for years.. there was a time when I didn't buy a ticket and my numbers came up that week.. so I figure I've had my luck and missed it. The chances of that happening ever again are so slim I've never bothered since :(

WMittens · 22/01/2013 19:26

taxes can be voluntary like road tax, you do not have to have a car

That doesn't work as a simile: the direct comparison would be, "the price of the car is a tax, you don't have pay it if you don't buy the car."

VAT is only payable on something if you buy it, if you don't buy you don't pay; a bit like a lottery ticket

If you don't buy a VATable product or service, then you are not subject to the tax - that is not the same as it not being mandatory. If you do purchase it, the tax is mandatory. Shit example anyway, who isn't going to buy clothes, or fuel for heating?

So once again, a lottery ticket is not a tax; the tax portion of a lottery ticket is a tax.

Not all "taxes" are levied by a central or local government.

"A tax (from the Latin taxo; "I estimate") is a financial charge or other levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law."

If it were up to me, it would be mandatory to study English in schools.

toddlerama · 22/01/2013 19:37

I'm agog that anyone spends £24 per month on lottery tickets! Absolutely gobsmacked. I thought only pensioners did it out of boredom. And I guess if there was a syndicate at work I'd do it. Would be shit if everyone else got to retire early except me. Complaining about the price hike as if it will affect you is bizarre. Just buy half as many? By a quarter of what you were and pretend it's gone down. It wont make any difference!

ThePinkOcelot · 22/01/2013 19:42

I think a lot of people will stop doing it. I certainly would if I did it in the first place. Someone spending £5 isn't going to start paying £10 a week, I would have thought!

GirlOutNumbered · 22/01/2013 21:07

We spend about £20 a month, so now will just get rid of the Wednesday draw. I waste more money on take out coffee and papers than I do on the lottery and at the end of the day, SOMEONE has to win!

DorisIsWaiting · 22/01/2013 21:38

Re the good causes, It is incredibly hard to get money. A colleague and I applyied on behalf of alocal project there is an intial 10 page application which is reviewed and then if you are sucessfull a more indepth application is required (I think 20-30% of applications who reach the 2nd stage get funding iirc) We got knocked back at the first stage trying to build a route to safely connect our village and the adjcent one (A road no footpath/ cycle track).

There is a huge demand for funding and this will only increase as other sources of funding are cut for community projects.

However I do agree those most likely to play are those who can least afford it (we have a lucky dip when we like the look of the jackpot and the same for the euromillions ) I wonder if sales (and jackpots) have fallen with the increase in price and availablity of the Euromillions and the hundreds of scratchcards available?

choccyp1g · 22/01/2013 21:40

I generally get a ticket about once every 6 weeks or so, and get it checked a week or two later, whenever I think of it. My new plan is to get a ticket once every 6 months*, but not get it checked until I buy a replacement.

That way I'll feel as though I'm "in it", because at all times I'll have a possible winner in my pocket, but won't waste much money on something that is not going to happen.

  • Does anyone know how long you get to claim before they keep the money? I'll aim for a bit less than that, just to be on the safe side.
choccyp1g · 22/01/2013 21:43

Also I'll take solesource's advice, and write my name on it straightaway, just in case it turns out to be a winner, and the people on the till try the ticket-swapping trick.

DontmindifIdo · 22/01/2013 21:51

erm, rather than stopping playing all together, why don't you just drop to 1 line from 2 so therefore spending exactly the same? You only need one line anyway, the point is to buy the dream once or twice a week that you can play property porn, think about what which designer bags you'd buy, where you'd go on holiday, what car you'd drive etc. It's not about htinking you are actually going to win, it's about buying a little bit of a dream.

You could take it down to just buying your dream once a week, £2.

I don't understand why you need that many tickets...

marquesas · 22/01/2013 22:04

girloutnumbered - you do know that there doesn't have to be a winner each time don't you? It's not just a case of sticking it out until everyone else gives up.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 22/01/2013 22:12

I heard one Radio DJ (can't remember what station) saying it's an "Idiots Tax"

Grin That's me. Idiot.