The National Lottery

[Phanerothyme]

If I had put 5 pounds in a jar for every lottery game on staurdays only since it started (93) I would have in the region of 2,600 quid. If I put it in a saving acct I might even have a smidgen more.....I'd have more than that If I went for the midweek draw too,

[Lickszz]

Originally posted by robh

It's a voluntary tax, I pay enough already thanks - Income tax, National Insurance, VAT, Council tax, car tax, petrol duty...

 

Odds aren't good - half the stake goes into Admin/Tax/"good causes".

 

Some of the "good causes" are ones that would previously have got government funding.

 

Some of the chosen good causes have not met with universal approval.

 

Half the prize money goes into the big prize so the best most of us can expect is less than 25% return on investment

 

Want to give money to good causes? The lottery isn't a good way to do that.

Assuming 2 tickets a week, out of your £100 a year £28 goes to charity.

Instead, write a cheque for £28 to your favourite charity once a year and complete a gift-aid form.

The charity reclaims the 22% tax you paid on that money and collects a total of £36 (and if you earn enough to pay 40% tax YOU can reclaim a further £6.50 on your tax return - so why not write a bigger cheque in the first place).

 

If you want a little gamble why not stick a couple of quid a week into Premium bonds instead (i.e. buy the minimum investment £100 once a year)

Do it for 10 years and you should win one or two prizes (£50 minimum) and at the end you can always cash the bonds and get your £1000 back or leave it there and expect a win once every 3 or 4 years - with a (small) chance of a big prize.

Nothing for charity? OK on leap years you give the £100 to charity (they get £128 with the tax refund) instead of Premium bonds.

 

Compare with Lottery at £2 per week. After 10 years you should have won 20 x £10 prizes and 1 4-ball (£45?) so you've won £245 but your £1000 is gone.

 

Having said that I do sometimes buy a rollover ticket - not winning £5M seems a better deal than not winning £2M !

 

You make some excellent points. I wish all those who have a grievance would refrain from participating. It's our only means of protest after all. Imagine 50 Million people in a crowd. It is extremely hard to imagine what that looks like. I have no idea of the acreage they would cover. Then pick out a couple. There's your chance.

 

However many lines one person invests in, it adds up to that many people! Each line is a person. I used to do the lottery dilligently from the outset, but I am appalled at some of the awards. Even the calibre of the awards personnel. Not to mention the corporate gains from our little old quids.

 

I am dead against using the lottery for politically correct purposes. We have enough of that with our taxes. Never mind our gambles.

[t020]

All of the new, stupid games like Thunderball, Extra, and Hotpicks just confuse people and make it harder to play. They also spread the prize fund around more. I think if the lottery returned to its format of when it first came out, ie. one draw every Saturday night, then people might play more again.

[Mo]

Anybody on here had a Lotto win?

 

I've had several £10's and £70 (for 4 numbers) but nothing more than that.

 

Anybody had a win and couldn't find the ticket. I have had the same numbers since the lottery started and know them by heart so I wouldn't be able to live in ignorance of my win if I lost a ticket. Having the same numbers is a real bum, I wish I changed the numbers each week because whatever happens I can never ever miss putting the numbers on. How sad is that?

[scatterheart]

We said we'd start doing just the main Lottery game every Saturday but we just keep forgetting to do it.

 

We've done it about 10 times and never get a single number. If we put 24 and 26, 25 comes up

[Sam Miguel]

We usually have a quid on a Saturday (just stab at any old numbers) and manage a £10 'win' probably once a year.

 

We always do the same with our 'winnings'

 

When we cash the ticket in, although the ticket has more-or-less paid for it, the Indian delivery we lovingly consume, in real terms works out at well over £50 for little more than a basic meal.

 

Ah, well. Sod it.

[angel_b]

Me and SLH73 have been playing the same numbers twice a week ever since we first started seeing each other three years ago. In that time we have won £10, and that was on a lucky dip I bought as an extra.

 

Knowing my luck though, the day I stop using those numbers is the day all six will get drawn out!

[Sam Miguel]

Aha, so the first time you treat yourself to a delivery to celebrate your win, it may well - in real terms - have cost you £200.

 

You could use the Chinese at the top of our (Myrtle) Road,

[Lickszz]

Threads merged.

[Guest]

Was anyone else unable to buy a lottery ticket today due to the machines not working at your local shops, or was it just my sods law?

Edited September 30, 2014 by Guest