Lottery: 5.5 million Brits 'don’t want to win the jackpot'

Many fear that a big win in the lottery could destroy relationships

Four in 10 Brits believe winning the national lotto could actually do them more harm than good, according to a new survey.  

Some 5.5 million are unsure whether they'd want to win the jackpot at all, while 2.2 million would feel scared or worried if they won a life-changing sum of money.

Common fears include relationship breakdowns, family arguments and old acquaintances crawling out of the woodwork.

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The findings come from the FreePostcodeLottery.com, which offers punters the chance to win smaller, more regular jackpots.

Of course, you could argue that's exactly what a smaller rival to the lotteries might say. But there are many high-profile examples of jackpot winners saying their lives had been ruined by a jackpot win. Just last week Gillian Bayford, who won £148 million with her husband Adrian, blamed the win for tearing her family apart.

Speaking about the research, freepostcodelottery founder Chris Holbrook said: “While we’d all welcome more luck in our lives, this seems to suggest Brits are weary of winning life-changing sums of money.

“An unexpected change in financial circumstances may not be the answer to our prayers if unresolved issues or uncertainty in personal lives affect how we are likely to cope.”

More research findings

One in 10 see a possibility for family disputes if they were to win big, while two fifths think that, although their families would be happy initially, they'd be expected to share their winnings.

One in five respondents said a win would leave them unsure if their relationship would have a future, while a further one in 10 voiced their fears that a prize could cause a break-up.

Not knowing who to trust is a fear many of us suffer with, but with a few extra million in the bank, it may be difficult to know who our true friends are.

Nearly a fifth of respondents (15%) fear old acquaintances will come out of the woodwork in order to benefit financially from the windfall.

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