Lottery adviser says he has known winners who have not told a soul

Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at The National Lottery, has seen “all sorts” of reactions in his 15 years dealing with lucky ticketholders.

“I’ve seen people be sick with excitement, I’ve seen people resign their job on the spot, I’ve seen people jumping up and down, I’ve known husbands who haven’t told wives and wives who haven’t told husbands, I’ve been to homes where there’s literally a party going on already,” he told the PA news agency.

Mr Carter could be dealing with Britain’s biggest ever lottery winner if a single ticketholder scoops the record jackpot in Tuesday’s EuroMillions draw.

The sum is an estimated £184 million – the largest ever jackpot up for grabs in the UK.

Mr Carter or one of his colleagues would be among the first people to speak to the winner, whose details would be passed on to his team once they have phoned the National Lottery hotline.

“Our job is to call them back at this point and really there’s two parts to that phone call – one is talking them through the process, how it all works – but actually just as importantly, is checking in on them, doing a bit of a welfare check, because they’ve just had an enormous shock and our job is to make sure they’re OK,” Mr Carter said.

“This job is similar to being a midwife really – you’re there for an amazing time in someone’s life.”

As well as completing the paperwork, checking the ticket and making sure they have the correct ID, Mr Carter is tasked with “helping someone go through a life-changing process”.

His team make sure the winner gets access to expert advice, from a lawyer to a financial adviser and even a life coach. They also put them in touch with other winners.

“If you’ve won a large amount of money in the National Lottery, the best thing you can do is go and have a cup of tea with another winner, because they’re the people that will truly understand,” Mr Carter said.

A single UK winner in Tuesday’s draw would push the current British record holder, an anonymous £170 million winner from October 2019, into second place.

With £184 million, one UK winner could count themselves richer than the singer Adele, whose net worth is £130 million, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

They could purchase a house in each of the top 10 priciest streets in the UK, including in London’s Kensington Palace Gardens, where the average house price is nearly £30 million.

“Specifically for large amounts of money, £184 million, it’s not just about making a difference to you or your family. If you want to, it can make a difference for generations and generations to come,” Mr Carter said.

The adviser said some winners like to set up big charitable trusts, while others gift money to friends and family.

“The great thing about £184 million is you can do all of those things if you wish,” he said.

“Certainly lots of friends and family have benefited and whilst the National Lottery has made over 6,000 millionaires in 27 years it’s been in existence, there have been many hundreds of other millionaires that have been made by winners giving away millions of pounds.”

While he cannot play the lottery himself and will “never know how it feels”, Mr Carter said he would spend his winnings by making sure his family were well looked after and travel around the world to watch his favourite sports.

The EuroMillions jackpot will be capped once it reaches 220 million euro, and that cap is expected to be reached in Tuesday’s draw.

The jackpot stays at 220 million euro for a further four draws if it continues not to be won. It must be won in the fifth draw, and if no ticket matches all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars, it rolls down into the prize tier where there is at least one winner. That could result in many new multimillionaires.

Last Friday, no ticketholder won the £174 million EuroMillions jackpot, causing the top prize to roll over into Tuesday’s draw.