Midhurst woman becomes a millionaire thanks to Lucky Dip ticket

She matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on Saturday, July 4, scooping the £1,000,000 prize.

According to the National Lottery, the winner has played ‘on and off’ since the game launched in 1994, ‘although never regularly’.

A spokesperson added: “She hadn’t realised that Lotto now includes a second draw, giving players another chance to win. Her winning ticket was a Lucky Dip bought in-store.”

Describing the win as ‘completely life-changing’, the unnamed winner said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable. I’ve played on and off since Lotto first began, so to win like this after all these years is just wonderful.

“My only wish is that I was 20 years younger so I could enjoy it even more!”

The lucky winner plans to spend some of her windfall on new jewellery, holidays, sporting events and new cars for herself and her husband, while also investing part of the prize.

Liz Styles, winners’ advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “Huge congratulations to our lucky Midhurst winner. With jewellery, holidays, sporting events and new cars all on the list, it sounds like she and her husband are going to enjoy every moment.”

The win comes after changes to the Lotto game introduced earlier this year. Every £2 Lotto line now gives players two chances to win for the same price, with the National Lottery saying the changes are expected to create around 345 millionaires a year, compared with about 140 previously. The odds of winning any prize have also improved from one in 9.3 to one in 4.9.

Lottery tickets can be bought in shops, online or through the National Lottery app. Players who buy tickets online or through the app have their entries checked automatically and receive an email if they have won a prize, while retail tickets can also be scanned in the app to check for winnings.

Beyond the prizes, National Lottery players also help fund community projects across the UK. Around £33 million is raised every week for Good Causes, supporting everything from grassroots sport and local arts to heritage sites and community organisations. Since the National Lottery launched in 1994, more than £53 billion has been raised for over 680,000 projects across the country, while more than £103 billion has been paid out in prize money, creating over 8,000 millionaires.

Players must be aged 18 or over and are encouraged to play responsibly.