Supporting winners
Winning is a life–changing experience. It can also be overwhelming – we do all we can to help winners deal with the emotional and practical consequences of a big win.
The National Lottery creates around 4 million winners a week and since launch in 1994 has created more than 1,900 millionaires. In 2005/06 alone it created 154 millionaires. A recent survey showed that most lottery winners are happier after a big win because it brings financial security, freedom of choice and can ease the normal pressures of life. We recognise that winners can need support however, so we've developed ways to help them deal with the impacts sudden good fortune can have on their lives.
Our support team helps winners think through what might happen after they've won and decide whether or not to go public:
* Anyone who wins more than £50,000 receives a winner's information pack with advice on legal and practical matters
* All winners of over £250,000 are offered advice and support from independent experts. This helps them deal with concerns like how to get independent financial and legal advice, practical advice on lifestyle changes, and press and PR support if they decide to go public.
The initial period after winning can be so overwhelming people forget what's happened to them. To help them remember we provide them with a diary to record their amazing experience.
Going public or staying anonymous
This can be a big decision for lottery winners. One of the concerns people have is begging letters. In fact, lottery winners are rarely inundated with begging letters but to put winners' minds at rest we respond to all letters on their behalf. Every winner has the right to remain anonymous and still has the option to approach Camelot at any time for advice or support related to their win.
When someone decides to go public, they have the full support of the Camelot press office team who stay in regular contact and handle all media relations. They also receive a regular magazine called Lottery Life, which provides updates on new winners as well as those who have continued to participate in publicity. They are also invited to attend winner events and gatherings, which enables them to meet other people in the same situation.
To help winners who choose to go public we put them in touch, wherever possible, with previous winners to share their experiences. Our trial mentoring scheme matches winners according to age and where they live, and helps new winners make contact with people who've been through what they're experiencing.
We started to trial this in 2005/06 and because the initial trial was so effective, we made a commitment last year to review it in order to develop it further. The feedback we received from the review was very positive; however, the review also showed that we're not able to use the scheme systematically due to the difficulties of always finding a match. In order to protect the anonymity of winners who opt for no publicity, we cannot offer them a mentor.
In 2005/06 we also committed to conduct a survey of winners who choose not to go public, to see if we could improve the services we offer them. While the survey has been designed, problems recruiting enough people to take part meant we couldn't complete it. Results from those who did participate provided no valuable information so we've decided to discontinue the survey.
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