How to Win the National Lottery
Winning the National Lottery is no easy task - although it's common to win a couple of pounds every now and again, winning the big cash is purely all about luck, and picking those lucky numbers. If you believe in luck, then be lucky! Find a four-leaf clover, keep a lucky rabbits foot on hand, search for a two-headed coin, use the number 7 and keep away from ladders or black cats. You can always make your own luck, of course, and some people do seem to be naturally lucky - but if you've never been lucky, who knows, you may be saving it all up for the big win!
Some people believe in a thing called "Karma", where if you do good things in your life, you accumulate good karma, and then good things should be attracted to. This is a nice concept, but if you take a look at some recent lottery winners you wonder if they have any positive karma at all - so keep a hold of that four leave clover!
Of course, there are a few things you have to do to win the national lottery, which I will explain here.
Buy Your Ticket
You can't possibly win the National Lottery without buying a ticket! You can buy a ticket in a number of ways, such as in your local shop that provides a Lottery Booth, via the internet or even through a syndicate at work or on-line. Either way, you should have a record either in paper form of your tickets and the numbers or on-line that you can check to your draw.
Once You've Won
Once you win, break out the champagne! It's true that most people that regularly play the lottery will scoop the occasional £10, so chances are you'll need the next piece of advice. With small wins, many people choose to spend half of it (£5-£30) on their tickets for the next week, and the other half on a celebratory treat. Nothing beats the thrill of a win - either big or small, and it's always fun ringing up relatives and having them be extra-nice to you, until they realise you have only won a couple of fivers!
Of course, you could always be lucky, and win much more than the average person, so here is exactly what to do if you find you've matched many numbers.
If you have bought your ticket on-line, the National Lottery will email to let you know you have won, and give any instructions needed for you to claim your winnings.
With a paper ticket, double-check your numbers and the date and type of the draw to the ticket itself, to make sure they completely match.
Small wins - These can be claimed at the shop where you bought the ticket, or, if you bought the ticket through a syndicate, the syndicate will claim the money for you, and send you the money via cheque or transfer.
Bigger wins from £50-£500 - These can be claimed from the lottery and will be paid directly into your on-line National Lottery Account or into your debit card the day after it has been won.
Wins of £501 to £5,000 - These will be paid directly onto your debit card, so you can hit the shops!
Wins that are over £5,000 - Big wins such as these must be claimed by calling the National Lotteries Interactive Customer Care team on telephone number 0845 278 8000, and these will be paid by cheque, which may take a few working days to arrive - giving you a little time to think of what to do with all that money!
Winning the Millions
If you've won the millions, the first thing to think of is if you want to remain anonymous, or share your win with the world! Be aware, though, that all lottery winners receive a vast amount of begging letters, and by coming out to the press you will be sent so many more. Of course, you could always hire someone to open and sort them for you with all your winnings!