I won £1m on the National Lottery – I’m bombarded with pleas for cash and marriage proposals
EUROMILLIONS winner Jane Park claims playing the lottery should carry a Government health warning — as she branded hitting the jackpot a “twisted fairytale”.
And she says a move to stop under-18s trying their luck, which came after she threatened to sue operator Camelot for selling her a ticket at 17, doesn’t go far enough.
Jane, of Edinburgh, who’s been blackmailed and threatened with violence since scooping £1million in 2013, said: “The lottery should come with a health warning similar to smoking and drinking.
“I understand they can’t make winning sound awful but they have a responsibility to not mislead the public.”
Jane — who wants ads for the game aired later at night — doesn’t think Lotto chiefs should wait for a win to warn players they could face hassle.
She added: “The adverts should be aired later in the evening and advertising should be out of the way from children.
“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.”
Jane previously spoke publicly about her fight to increase the age limit.
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She said: “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.
“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 revealed she’s bombarded with pleas for cash aid from strangers.
She added: “It may be parents with terminally-ill children or needing life-changing surgery. Uni students want me to pay for their education.
“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.”
She says it’s “wrong” that winning “dream come true money” is glamorised and describes it as a “twisted fairytale” where strangers ask about her bank balance daily.
She added: “I’m proud that I have invested my money wisely and nine years later I’m still living a good life, it just feels like people are waiting for the day I become broke and homeless, but I won’t let that happen.”
Last night a spokesperson for the Department of Media Culture and Sport said: “Last year we changed the law to protect young people from the risks of gambling and increased the minimum age to play the National Lottery from 16 years old to 18 years old.
“The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission and we will not hesitate to act further if we consider it necessary.”
Camelot was asked for comment.
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