£4.5m Lotto jackpot winner’s charity investigated by watchdog over alleged ‘financial misconduct’

Expert suggests ways to handle massive win

The dilemma of what to do with a huge lottery win is the stuff of dreams for most people.

But those lucky enough to have a huge windfall should plan for the future as well as readjusting to day-to-day life on their new, turbo-charged income, according to finance experts.

Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, were revealed on Thursday as the winners of Britain’s biggest EuroMillions lottery jackpot of £184 million.

The couple, who are aged in their 40s and have two children, scooped a record-breaking £184,262,899.

Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, said: “Average household wealth in the UK is just over £300,000, including property, savings, pensions and everything else which is owned.

“Fewer than 1% of all households hold more than £3 million of wealth and so winning millions would lift most people into a very select segment of the population.”

What happens to unclaimed prizes?

Any cash that isn’t claimed after a total of 180 days from a game played in the UK goes to National Lottery projects across the country.

Folks in Ireland have just half that time to claim too, with only 90 days before the prize money is off the table.

Once the claim period is over, the ticket officially expires and the owner of the lottery ticket will no longer be able to claim any of their winnings.

But after that time has expired, any unclaimed prizes, plus any interest they might have accumulated in that time, are allocated to the National Lottery’s Good Causes fund instead.

This will usually then go on to help fund things like sport programmes or local community buildings or other projects.

Former lottery operator Camelot FURIOUS over license loss

A recent decision saw the lottery operator lose the right to run the national lottery, in response, the company has taken the lottery to court.

This decision could result in the National Lottery being suspended for the first time in its long history.

The company selected by the Gambling Commission is Allwyn, which will take over from February 2024.

Joe and Jess will not return to work following eye-watering lottery win

£184m is more than enough to set anyone up for life, with that mind, these lucky winners will not be going back to work any time soon.

Asked if they would carry on working after their win, Jess Thwaite said: “I don’t think we are at the moment.

“I’m going to take some time with that and what we’re going to do.”

Her husband Joe Thwaite said he has handed his notice in.

He said: “I’m leaving work.”

Mrs Thwaite added: “I think we’re going to have a full-time job managing all of this for quite some time.”

Tomorrow’s Lotto draw

Tomorrow Lotto draw jackpot is currently sitting at a whopping £8.5 million.

The numbers are expected to be announced at 8:00pm and will be followed by the Thunderball draw.

The Thwaites set sights on MASSIVE mansion

Joe and Jess Thwaite are set to splurge a cool £7 million on a gorgeous mansion in the Cotswolds.

The dazzling property is not far from Jeremy Clarkson’s sprawling farm.

With seven bedroom, they won’t be stretched for space! The property has huge gardens, a tennis court, swimming pool, stables for their two ponies, standalone secondary accommodation and a gym!

Former lottery operator Camelot FURIOUS over license loss

A recent decision saw the lottery operator lose the right to run the national lottery, in response, the company has taken the lottery to court. 

This decision could result in the National Lottery being suspended for the first time in its long history. 

The company selected by the Gambling Commission is Allwyn, which will take over from February 2024.

Lotto winner’s charity to be investigated by Watchdog

A kid’s charity launched by Barry Chuwen, 52, who won £4.5million in 1997, is being investigated for financial misconduct. 

As reported by the Daily Record, OSCR are looking into payments made by the charity to a company connected to one of its trustees last year.

They have now taken action to make sure that any property owned by the charity can’t be sold.

OSCR commented: “We are concerned that there has been misconduct in the administration of the charity and consider it necessary and desirable to take protective action in respect of the charity’s property.

“We have therefore issued a formal direction to the charity’s bank preventing it from parting with any property of the charity without OSCR’s consent.”

The Lottery: Almost £3,000 is donated every minute!

That is around £50 every second!

In figures, roughly 28p from every £1 spent on all Lottery tickets tickets is donated to The Good Causes Fund. Incredible!

Around £850 million has been raised to help those who are lonely and isolated in the UK.

Joe and Jess will not return to work following eye-watering lottery win

£184m is more than enough to set anyone up for life, with that mind, these lucky winners will not be going back to work any time soon. 

Asked if they would carry on working after their win, Jess Thwaite said: “I don’t think we are at the moment.

“I’m going to take some time with that and what we’re going to do.”

Her husband Joe Thwaite said he has handed his notice in.

He said: “I’m leaving work.”

Mrs Thwaite added: “I think we’re going to have a full-time job managing all of this for quite some time.”

Weekend Recap: A look at Friday and Saturday’s numbers

Friday night’s Euromillions numbers are in, the numbers drawn were:

 8, 22, 23, 32 and 50

The lucky stars were: 3 and 9

The £7.1m Lotto Jackpot and Thunderball numbers also came in on Saturday night

The winning results for the Lotto are 12, 15, 25, 37, 48 and 57.

Meanwhile, the all important Bonus Ball is 08.

The winning digits for the Thunderball are as follows: 1, 13, 23, 31, 35 and Thunderball 7

Stay gamble aware

It is important to stay safe when playing the lottery, to help with this, the National Lottery operate a ‘Healthy Play’ policy.

The National Lottery released the following statement, “We know that extraordinary things happen when lots of people play a little.

“We’re proud to say that around 60% of UK adults enjoy our games, so encouraging healthy play is at the heart of everything we do. The way we design our games and tools helps put you in control of your play.

“To keep players safe online, we use an in-house behavioural analytics model. This identifies at-risk players, enabling us to support them through targeted interventions.”

Lotto winners set to embark on globe-spanning adventures

With 184 million quid in your pocket, there aren’t many places you can’t go! 

With that in mind, Jess and Joe Thwaite, who are 44 and 49 respectively, will set out on a trip that will take them from the UK to Hawaii. 

The lucky couple said: “Our two children have always talked about going to Hawaii, I’ve no idea why, but we can now make that dream come true.

“Just to see their faces when we can make these things come true will be worth every penny.” 

A source told The Sun: “The children haven’t had many overseas trips and Jess and Joe want to make it special for them.” 

LUCKIEST lottery numbers, revealed!

Here is a list of the numbers that appear most often!

• Number 40, drawn 350 times
• Number 27, drawn 347 times
• Number 23, drawn 346 times
• Number 39, drawn 345 times
• Number 38, drawn 345 times

The unluckiest (or least drawn) numbers include:  4, 26, 38 and 65!

What are YOUR luckiest numbers?

Britains biggest ever Lotto winners, ranked!

Following the news that Joe and Jess Thwaite have become the nation’s biggest ever lottery winners this month, with a jackpot of £184m, we took a look at some of the previous big winners. 

The Thwaite’s have overtaken an anonymous winner that, in October 2019, cashed in a mouth-watering £170m.

Before that, Colin and Chris Weir held the crown, with a life-changing pot of £161m.

Money doesn’t buy you happiness

For many, winning the jackpot means mass celebrations and ultra-expensive cars – but not for Susan Hardman.

When the mum-of-one’s numbers came up in January 2010 she worked as a hairdresser in Eardisley, Hereford, and was “struggling financially”.

Instead of splashing out when the £1.2million win landed in her bank account, she traded in her scissors for overalls and became a pig farmer.

Susan claimed to be happier than ever knee-deep in mud and said bringing a piglet into the world brought her “more satisfaction” than winning the lottery.

Warning: be gamble aware

The National Lottery operate a ‘Healthy Play’ policy and monitor behavioural patterns in players.

The National Lottery released the following statement, “We know that extraordinary things happen when lots of people play a little. We’re proud to say that around 60% of UK adults enjoy our games, so encouraging healthy play is at the heart of everything we do. The way we design our games and tools helps put you in control of your play.

“To keep players safe online, we use an in-house behavioural analytics model. This identifies at-risk players, enabling us to support them through targeted interventions.”

Some star signs are better than others

According to the stars some signs are luckier than others, so read on and see if you should pop out and buy that winning lotto ticket. It could be you!

Leo – Oh, Leo we knew you’d be one of the lucky ones. You always look good, have a string of admirers and just tend to always be prowling on the bright side of the street.

Virgo – It’s no coincidence that planner extraordinaire is one of the luckiest signs of the zodiac. Virgos only become successful because they put in the hours and werk, girl.

Scorpio – Magnanimous Scorpio has definitely got it going on when it comes to luck. They’ll often find themselves in the right place at the right time as if by magic, much to the annoyance of some less fortunate souls

Lottery thrown into doubt amid court case

The National Lottery, a British institution, could be suspended for the first time in its long history. 

The company is currently embroiled in a court case between Camelot and Allwyn. 

Camelot, the previous operator of the activity, is challenging the decision to give the game to rival Allwyn from 2024.

If a decision is made in court this week, it could lead to the suspension of the lottery until 2024.

Lotto winner became a millionaire, then went back to his supermarket job

Steve Schiltz became a millionaire overnight, but couldn’t leave his job as a lorry driver.

He worked as a Lidl delivery driver, but humbly kept his win a secret from his colleagues and continued to work despite having won a huge sum of money.

The millionaire dedicated his time to delivering goods during the lorry driver crisis, which led to a shortage of goods and fuel across the UK.

He was more than happy to help during the height of the covid pandemic too.

His wife Lesley also worked as a social care trainer, and carried on her key worker job too.

Joe and Jess will not return to work following eye-watering lottery win

£184m is more than enough to set anyone up for life, with that mind, these lucky winners will not be going back to work any time soon.

Asked if they would carry on working after their win, Jess Thwaite said: “I don’t think we are at the moment.

“I’m going to take some time with that and what we’re going to do.”

Her husband Joe Thwaite said he has handed his notice in.

He said: “I’m leaving work.”

Mrs Thwaite added: “I think we’re going to have a full-time job managing all of this for quite some time.”

LUCKIEST lottery numbers, revealed!

Here is a list of the numbers that appear most often!

• Number 40, drawn 350 times
• Number 27, drawn 347 times
• Number 23, drawn 346 times
• Number 39, drawn 345 times
• Number 38, drawn 345 times

The unluckiest (or least drawn) numbers include:  4, 26, 38 and 65!

What are YOUR luckiest numbers?