No Win In 8 Years – It’s Supposed To Be Instant!

Playing the lottery gives us the chance to win life-changing prizes from as little as £2 a ticket but imagine hitting a win worth £1millon only to be told it was a technical error! Joan Parker-Grennan was told just that back in 2015 and here we are almost 8-years on, still waiting on her win to be honoured. Will Camelot cough up? The unfortunate “winner” says the National Lottery operator is “bound” to pay her a £1 million prize, even though Camelot says she only won £10.

So, what happened?

Sometime between August 25^th and 26^th of 2015, Joan Parker-Grennan decided to play National Lottery instant wins via their website. Just like online casino scratchcards, customers make a deposit in to play. Purchasing scratchcards online will instantly alert the player to a win (once played), with funds being credited to their accounts automatically ready for withdrawal. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to go any way!

Joan Parker-Grennan (the client) secured a £5 scratchcard and waited in anticipation of a win. Lawyers acting on behalf of their client explained to the High Court that the rules of the scratchcard game were that if a number in the “your numbers” section of the screen matched one in the winning numbers section…

…the two matching numbers would be highlighted (turn white), indicating that the player had won the prize “designated by those matching numbers.” And in this case the two matching values were in fact £1m! However, Camelot claims that “at the point” Mrs Parker-Grennan bought her ticket, its computer system predetermined her prize to be just £10.

How do they know this?

Well, just like in a game of online bingo, if a player purchases a ticket in advance and isn’t logged in when the game is active or simply goes off to make a cuppa and misses their numbers, the system is designed to identify winning tickets and credit prizes accordingly.

It was explained to the judge that between August 25^th and 26^th 2015 there had been a “technical issue” which could result in “different graphical animations” being displayed on some players’ screens. The two numbers with a designated prize of £10 were highlighted on Mrs Parker-Grennan’s screen with a message saying: “Congratulations, you have won £10,” along with two unmissable £1m values too!

Closing arguments…

Mrs Parker-Grennan, was not at the High Court hearing but says there should be summary judgment in her favour because Camelot cannot win at a trial, only Barrister Philip Hinks, who led Camelot’s legal team, has argued that the operator should only pay the prize that it was liable to pay as outlined in the “outcome of the ticket as predetermined” by Camelot’s computer system.

Barrister James Couser, representing Mrs Parker-Grennan, said there was “no real prospect of the claim being successfully defended. The dispute between the parties is actually quite a narrow one. The defendant says that the terms mean that the claimant is bound by what it intended the outcome of the game to have been, despite the fact that was not what the game was programmed to do accorded with what the relevant contractual term said it could do.”

The judge described the case as “interesting” and has promised to deliver a ruling in the near future.

Source: “Woman Who Says She Won Lottery Million Awaits Judge’s ruling On High Court Fight”. Independent. March 30, 2023.