Heartbreak For Lottery Player: Rs 118 Crore Win Turns Out To Be App Error

In an unexpected turn of events, a British man, Mark Fletcher, 49, checked the numbers on the Lotto app and thought he had won an incredible 11 million pounds (Rs 1187131281) lottery prize, according to The Metro. But his delight was soon replaced with disappointment upon learning that he had not actually bought a ticket at all.

In order to verify his winnings, Fletcher first contacted Lotto customer support, believing he had matched all six numbers selected. After 45 minutes on the phone, he kept hearing the same thing: You're not the winner.

Mr Fletcher told The Metro: "When I rang them up to check, I was on the phone for 45 minutes, and the woman was adamant I wasn't a winner. Then I asked why it was telling me I'd won and if there was a fault with the app, and they denied that also.I felt as if I were being put under a lie detector. She kept saying, "You haven't bought that ticket, have you, Mark?".

The experience left Mr Fletcher feeling disillusioned with the lottery system.

"When people play the Lotto, they think it's a trustworthy service, but I'm doubting that now," he said.

"They've not shown any empathy towards me. It has impacted me; I'm left thinking about all the 'what ifs'.

Allwyn, the global lottery operator running the National Lottery, clarified that players could save a set of numbers in their app to check against any draws. However, it does not imply a ticket purchase.

"It has nothing to do with whether a player actually played the numbers or not," a spokesperson said.

"In this case, the player did not play this set of six numbers via his online account for the draw on June 29, or indeed in any draws prior to the draw on June 29 taking place."