I’m NEVER playing lotto again after bizarre loophole forced me to travel 340 miles to claim my prize
A LOTTERY winner has shared his fury after he was told he'd have to travel 340 miles to collect his prize.
Kieran Gallagher, 61, says the journey could wipe out his winnings entirely.
The dad-of-two won £800 after purchasing a UK lotto ticket in Strabane in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, a few miles across the border from his home in Donegal, Ireland.
After winning the prize with his lucky dip ticket, Kieran was furious to learn he would have to travel to Wales to collect the cash - a journey of 340 miles.
He said: "Just don't do it. I won £800 after buying a UK ticket across the border.
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"But they won't show me the money. Travelling to Britain could wipe out the winnings.
"You've to stay overnight because you have to make an appointment. The trip probably would take all the winnings. At this stage, I'm just p*****d off."
The problem arose after officials said the €947 prize could not be delivered to an address in the Republic of Ireland, as it is outside the UK.
Kieran tried to dispute the decision for eight weeks following his win.
But the fuming factory worker now admits he has given up phoning for answers as he "probably would have worked up an £800 phone bill" if he'd carried on the dispute.
Elaborating on his frustration, he continued: "As you can imagine, I wasn't one bit happy about that. I bought it two miles down the road and now I am being told I'll have to book a flight or get a ferry to lift my money."
The frustrated winner added that the system had "no wiggle-room or common sense", having been told "rules are rules".
A spokesperson for UK lottery operators Allwyn said: "For prizes up to £500, players can go back into a UK or [Isle of Man] shop to claim the prize. For any prizes above this, they should contact us. We'll ask colleagues to contact Mr Gallagher directly."
The news comes after another lottery player, Rachel Kennedy, was left devastated when she realised her ticket payment had been declined, losing her £182 million in winnings.
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you'll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize - the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot's EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 - far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two "Lucky Stars" from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars - the top win - stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it's 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it's 1 in 31,076. These come with an average prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one "Thunderball". It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.