National Lottery player thought he won but has ticket REFUSED after major blunder

GB News explores six lottery winners whose lives were transformed by a big win |

GB NEWS

Marcus Donaldson

By Marcus Donaldson


Published: 09/01/2026

- 14:05

Updated: 09/01/2026

- 14:50

David Gouldby claimed he was denied the promised sum

A National Lottery player who was convinced he had scooped prize money has had his winnings refused after making a major blunder.

David Gouldby, from Felixstowe in Suffolk, claimed he had matched three correct numbers but was denied the promised sum.


However, the National Lottery has rubbished the disappointed players' claims.

Mr Gouldby received a free Lucky Dip from an original eight-line Lotto ticket bought on September 22.

The Lucky Dip was claimed on October 13 and the ticket was retained by the vendor.

Mr Gouldby received an exchange ticket for the two outstanding draws on October 15 and 18.

However, the player claimed the ticket should have been valid for seven draws.

He said, when scanned, it showed all seven draws, which included a £30 win for matching three numbers.

National Lottery

A National Lottery player made a major blunder after thinking he had scooped prize money

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PA

After matching three numbers, Mr Gouldby was convinced he was now set to receive the two-figure prize.

Throwing cold water on his crusade, a spokesman from Allwyn, who runs the National Lottery, explained the expectant player was mistaken.

They told GB News the exchange ticket was only valid for the two draws on October 15 and 18, neither of which was a winner.

Therefore, there was no £30 prize.

National Lottery

The National Lottery rubbished the claim that they had failed to recognise a winning ticket

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PA

A fellow player from West Dunbartonshire in Scotland certainly made no mistake as she scooped £10,000 a month for a year after matching five numbers.

While choosing to keep her identity secret, the homemaker has laid out how her ingenious technique helped her win in just a matter of months, with the margin of error reduced to zero with some help from her computer.

The lucky winner began to use a spreadsheet to generate random numbers for her in March 2025.

In as little as four months, her method paid off, and her numbers guaranteed her the incredible monthly sum.

In total, she won a whopping £120,000.

“It feels really epic but also unbelievable and will help with future plans to move to our dream area,” the overjoyed homemaker said.

She has already booked a dream holiday to the US with her winnings.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, said: “Huge congratulations to this lucky winner. We love hearing about the exciting adventures our winners embark on with their prize money, and we hope she has a wonderful time in North America."

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