Woman shares why she planned to sue after winning multi-million dollar jackpot
A UK woman who won over a million dollars through the lottery has described it as a “twisted fairytale” rather than a dream come true.
Jane Park, who won the £1 million Euromillions lottery in 2013, said winning big isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, revealing that she has been blackmailed and threatened with violence ever since, per The Sun.
“The lottery should come with a health warning similar to smoking or drinking,” she said.
“I understand they can’t make winning sound awful but they have a responsibility to not mislead the public.”
After threatening to sue Camelot, the company that sold her the fateful ticket when she was just 17, prompted changes preventing those under 18 from having a gamble, she said the change doesn’t go far enough.
Ms Park also wants ads for the game to be aired later at night - rather than during time slots that kids will be watching - and thinks that Lotto chiefs shouldn’t wait until someone wins to warn players of what’s in store.
“The adverts should be aired later in the evening and advertising should be out of the way from children,” she said,
“It sounds silly but children dream of either being famous or winning the lottery, and if it wasn’t so glamorised maybe there would be more ambition rather than gambling.
“People always refer to the lottery as ‘playing the lottery’, but it’s not ‘playing’, it’s just plain gambling, apart from picking some number there is no game element to it.
“How it wasn’t held to the same legislation as gambling from the beginning baffles me.”
Ms Park revealed that she is bombarded with pleas for help in the form of cash from strangers and that she’s even proposed to on a weekly basis.
“It may be parents with terminally-ill children or needing life-changing surgery. Uni students want me to pay for their education,” she explained.
“I also get a lot of marriage proposals, I’d say I get at least one a week. It’s not from anyone interested in me, it’s from people interested in the money.”
The Edinburgh native has previously spoken about her fight to increase the age limit, which she had planned to take to court until her cause became the subject of media attention.
“I was prepared to go to court to get my argument known, but the media attention it received got my point heard by the right people and I didn’t need to go that far in the end,” she explained.
“I know that is directly because of the attention I brought to the subject.
“Part one of my mission was to have the age range increased, part two is to try and make advertising the lottery more truthful.”
She added that it’s “wrong” that the lotto is glamorised as “dream come true money”, when in reality she described it more as a “twisted fairytale” where strangers ask about her bank balance daily.
“I’m proud that I have invested my money wisely and nine years later I’m still living a good life,” she said.
“It just feels like people are waiting for the day I become broke and homeless, but I won’t let that happen.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Media Culture and Sport said the law was changed so that only those over the age of 18 could take part in the National Lottery, up from the previous minimum age of 16.
“The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission and we will not hesitate to act further if we consider it necessary,” they said.
Image: @janeparkx (Instagram)