to think going public with a lottery win is bonkers?

[WhataPlank]

Just watched a little YT documentary following the lives of lottery winners and I was blown away by how many people reach out to lottery winners to beg money; not just friends and family, ex-colleagues or even ex-friends, but complete strangers with sob stories (both genuine and fake).

Is there some kind of incentive offered by the lottery people to go public? It's obviously in the organiser's interest as its all publicity, but surely there's nothing in it for the winner but absolute misery?
There must be some kind of bonus for announcing it, because why would you want everyone to know!?

Sorry, hadn’t RTFT and can’t delete my post

I have always said I wouldn't go public, I think people who do are very foolish.

I wouldn't even tell close friends and family how much I had won.......I would tell them I had won a much smaller amount to explain away some purchases and be very discreet about who to help!
I wouldn't want to change my life too much anyway.

The problem is the newspapers. They go on the hunt and then they give space to the grabby sad face stories of the estranged relatives and ex partners.

So people choose to control the timing of it coming out rather than having it thrust upon them randomly at the whim of a trashy newspaper and a greedy bitter person they know.

Theres no difference in the Uk to the assistance people get if they go public or stay private.

https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/life-changing/winner-advisor-carter

As has been shown by the fact the Sun have a story about the poster who posted about the ex work colleague who won big…

They’ll now be combing the Op’s posts to try and identify them to get more info on the winner

A local family won so had this conversation with a friend who knows them. Friend said that they were advised by lottery to go public and almost get it over with, because otherwise it would leak its way out and get them into a mess with family and friends. They did have lots of begging yes, including things like assumptions they would pay for things for their kids school. I think they had to move out of their house and not go to school for a while until it all calmed down.

I truly believe the whole “if you don’t go public you’ll be hunted down by paparazzi” is a scare tactic by the National Lottery and is shitty and unethical.

There’s absolutely zero benefit to winners in going public, but plenty of great publicity for the NL.

If the papers are going to chase down your friends and family for some dirt on you, they’ll do that regardless of whether you went public or not. This idea that you can control the narrative where the press are concerned is bollocks.

The trick is to do things quietly for a while 6-12 months. Sure have a few nice holidays or a little home improvement. But dont buy 3 ferraris and share your first class holidays all over facebook. After a while people won't care and you can move house. Claim you came into some inheritance or whatever.

DH and I have already agreed this. If we ever win we’re telling nobody for at least 6 months. Our lives currently would allow us to say we’ve sold one of our businesses for perhaps a million or two and we’d slowly start to upgrade things.

Fewer people would expect a handout if they think it’s earned money, rather than money you’ve won.

What is this this thread please? Please link. Thanks

Please link! Thanks

Syndicates. People get excited when first get news & share without thinking. I think there are few, large, significant, syndicate wins that stay under the radar.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5016227-feel-deflated-by-the-recent-euromillions-news?page=10&reply=133328365

I think the psychology of it is easy to understand, just look at the number of people who dream of being famous. It's a gateway to their 15 minutes in the spotlight.

And I think some people know it will be hard to keep quiet if they have any family that they want to share it with (and even more hard if they don't want to share it with them) so they may as well go public. And I'm sure the lottery people paint a rosy picture of "we'll look after you" because going public is good for them too.

My understanding of the national lottery is that you can also opt for a limited disclosure: "It's a couple who lives in xxxx" - or whatever you want to disclose- if you don't want the full champagne press call. Or you can opt for no publicity.

I'd have no difficulty in keeping very, very quiet about it.

But surely the press could only break a story if the people concerned agreed to it ? I would just deny all knowledge. I think if you just sit on it for a while and think very hard about what to do with it all . Don't go crazy splashing money about. I would take a nice luxury cruise to think it over and most definitely would buy all my food from Waitrose to start . Then slowly start to upgrade the interior of my house after all who is going to see it ?

@Buttercupmush this made me laugh out loud, the press can write whatever they want about whoever they want! It doesn't have to be true, just "from a source" i.e a sad face relative or acquaintance who has been paid a couple of grand to sell their story. They may approach the people and ask them for an interview for an exclusive, but if they decline they'll still write it anyway.

I made the mistake of telling two close girl friends of mine i was going to win a little money. It was just them two, wasn't going to publicly announce It. The money was nothing in the millions but still enough that I could enjoy holidays, shopping etc. They immediately assumed I would be taking them out for extravagant clothes shopping and one even asked if I would pay for her nose job!

I had children! The money would be going to them, not a nose job! It was really ridiculous that straightaway way they said, right I guess you will be taking us both out shopping for new dresses!

I think it's naive to think many people can keep it totally hidden, but you don't need to go in the news. That said I'm sure the organisers push you quite hard as it's amazing free advertising for them. I'd keep it as quiet as I possibly could.

I have a friend I suspect won some money. They moved to a much more expensive house, both got new cars, took 3 or 4 holidays and posted themselves flying upper.

Every mutual friend always says ‘where on earth do they get their money!’

I wouldn’t go public but even if you didn’t you’d get constant speculation like the above.

If you win tens of millions of pounds I’d think you could afford a super injunction against the tabloids.

But to do that they must need some form of confirmation? Anyone can say anything to a newspaper just for a wind up ? I would imagine it would be from an anonymous source who phones the press ? The press then rock up on the doorstep and make believe they are from Lotto ? They are going to look idiots otherwise ?

This reminds me of an ex colleague of my husband. He's fb friends with them and noticed their regular holidays flying first and business class, taking family with them, buying a holiday home, decking out a home gym with peloton equipment etc.

He asked where do they get their money. But was more trying to work out how his colleuege who wasn't overly competent had got a role high up in their specialism for a large multi national company. But assumed he'd just got lucky.

He honestly didn't even think of a lottery win. It wasn't until I looked at it and their generic linkedin job titles they'd created and their previous roles not completely matching, I twigged that was probably what had happened. As costing their expenditure up doesn't really match their potential earnings

Others may know or suspect, but the cover is probably easy to keep as they come from a relatively high paying sector (60-120k pa wages). I mean there's a chance they didn't win but I find it unlikely they havent somehow come into some money, though looking at the house they've bought and other things i doubt its a euro millions level win. More like a few million. Oddly though i think the very british attitude of not discussing money shows as comments on posts are more subtle. No one asking outright about where their money comes from. Ther emust be quite a few winners per year winning 1 million plus. I doubt the press care too much about the small ones. So wait long enough and pretend to be one of the 1-2 million winners.

A woman who lived near me won over £10 million. I heard from a mutual friend that she had taken all of her friends out for a meal but made them pay for themselves as she didnt want them to think she was being flashy..

I wonder what happens to all the begging letter? Do the winners read every one?

I’d be intrigued as how many people came crawling out the woodwork. “So sad we lost touch, what are you up to now…oh you won the lottery…I had no idea”. But agree it’s madness to tell the press

I wouldn’t go public but even if you didn’t you’d get constant speculation like the above

Yes, you may get speculation but at the end of the day, noone really KNOWS so they cant say for sure and if you do things sensibly by gradually upscaling your lifestyle rather than buying a diamond rolex and a Ferrari the very next morning then people are less likely to catch on. I imagine that adapting slowly rather than going on mad spending sprees is probably better for you psychologically as well as financially anyway.

I'm not telling anyone when I win- not a damn soul apart from my DH! I wouldnt change my lifestyle for several months and I'd do it slowly. Noone is "owed" any explanations about my finances anyway - and if they asked I'd tell them it was private!

Whether you can keep it secret will depend to a large extent on your current life. If you regularly chat with your neighbours, post on FB, don't holiday much or only holiday in the UK then people will notice and comment on changes:

• unexpectedly putting the house on the market or moving out without explaining why
• suddenly coming off FB
• sporting a winter sun tan having said you were going to Rhyl

I have no doubt that the press have contacts in all sorts of places. Someone will blow the secret.

I have never, ever in my life read a story in any of even the raggiest of shitrags about how a lottery winner was tracked down and outed by shonky journos? Even google is coming up empty?

Total scare mongering BS.

I'd stay quiet for couple of months. I'd go off to NYC for a month. If it was mega money, look at getting an apartment there. Whilst I was away I'd get a total house and garden renovation done. I'd stay in a hotel when I was away. Anyone who asked I'd tell them my partner had a reasonable win. He doesn't live with me. Don't have large family, 2 daughters, they'd get a bung.