Swansea family syndicate win £1,000,001 on new lottery game

The family syndicate said they only played for a ‘bit of fun’ and never imaged it would change their lives

A Swansea family syndicate thought they had won £1 in a new Lotto game but that was only the start of their luck. The group of seven actually won a “bonus” £1m on a second round, securing a life-changing future for the family.

The new Lotto game gives players two chances to win with every line, and in a fitting twist of fate, the Swansea syndicate who became the some of the first £1m winners on the new came includes twin sisters.

Syndicate leader Alison Gibson, 57, from Morriston, hadn’t realised that there were now two rounds for each of the syndicate’s Lotto Lucky Dip tickets, and discovered a “bonus” £1M in their National Lottery account, which was an incredible surprise for a Sunday morning.

She said: “It was quite early in the morning, I was having a cup of tea in the kitchen and decided to check the syndicate tickets on my phone app. I spotted that we had won £1 on one of our Lucky Dip lines – but then I saw £1M on another! I was so shocked, I couldn’t believe it, I thought I was seeing things because I’d been out the night before!”

Deciding she wasn’t seeing things, even before the win was confirmed, Alison set about making what she describes as “the best phone calls ever”, sharing the news with her close family.

“I told my daughter first as she is living with me at the moment, then I started calling the rest of the syndicate. First on the list was my older sister Janet who was screaming down the phone when I told her!

“Then I called my twin Julia, we had been out the night before and she had said ‘don’t call me early tomorrow’ so I was winding her up at first talking about the weather. She wasn’t impressed until I got to the point that we had won £1m, and then she was very impressed, and very happy.

“Nobody could quite believe what I was saying. Everyone was completely overwhelmed. Sharing that moment with the people you love is something truly wonderful and a memory I’ll never forget.”

“We’ve always said we play for a bit of fun,” said Alison. “We never imagined one Lucky Dip would change seven lives.” Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here

Grandmother Alison, who comes from a family of eight, has a large extended family who total around 75 when they all get together for their annual Christmas party. The entire family will feel the effect of the generous group’s win.

Now, the seven women are making plans they never thought possible. Alison is planning a dream cruise around Italy. Twin sister Julia Michael will clear her mortgage, Alison’s daughter who has recently bought a new home with her partner, can now furnish it exactly as she’d hoped while putting money aside for the future and retired Janet O’Mara, 67, is looking forward to enjoying her retirement in comfort.

The syndicate was born after Alison sent a message in the family’s WhatsApp group five years ago asking who fancied joining up. Ever since, she has faithfully shared their weekly Lucky Dip numbers alongside a picture of a four-leaf clover for luck, a symbol she also had tattooed on her wrist.

The grateful family have since surprised Alison with flowers to thank her for running the syndicate over the years and four of the seven ladies celebrated their incredible win at a spa day together at Lanelay Hall Hotel and Spa – the perfect chance to reflect on a life-changing moment they are still coming to terms with.

Looking back on their extraordinary luck, Alison said: “It’s just amazing. We had no idea we were among the first winners on the new Lotto. To think we won big on the second round of the draw is just amazing, so if the game hadn’t changed, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about this today.

“The best thing is it isn’t just changing one life – it’s changing seven and our families beyond that. That’s something our family will never forget.”

Alison and her syndicate won on the second round of the Lotto draw on Saturday, June 13 – matching five Main Numbers and the Bonus Ball. Every £2 Lotto line now gives players two chances to win for the same price using the same six numbers. The changes are expected to create around 345 millionaires every year, up from around 140 previously, while improving players’ chances of winning any prize from 1 in 9.3 to 1 in 4.9.

As well as creating more winners, the new Lotto will also generate even more money for National Lottery-funded Good Causes across the UK.