A grandmother wins too much in the lottery: she receives a visit from a private detective
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13 Jun 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes This story is not new, but it illustrates the luck of some players on this Friday the 13th. Amelia Barnham, a 69-year-old grandmother from London, found herself at the centre of a bizarre scenario: after winning more than £23,000 in accumulated lottery winnings, she was unable to collect her final prize of £800. Worse still, a private detective hired by the new Allwyn operator visited her home three times, suspecting fraudulent behaviour. Here’s a look at an extraordinary case.
An avid gambler… and a suspect
Amelia Barnham lives in Hammersmith, west London. She spends around £60 (€70) a week on her weekly draws (often one or two raffles plus a scratchcard). Over the years, these small bets have earned her more than £23,000 (almost €27,000) without ever hitting the jackpot. For his latest win, a ticket bought for £1 on 3 February promised him £800 (around €935). But not everything went according to plan…
Withdrawal impossible: between post office and supermarket
A few days after the draw, Amelia first went to the post office, where she hoped to collect her winnings. She was told that payment had to be made through the shop where the ticket had been taken: a local Tesco. There, the manager asks her to send back a photo of both sides of the ticket, because of the change of operator. Camelot, the previous operator, was replaced by Allwyn on 1 February, bringing with it new rules.
The arrival of a private detective
After the photos were returned, Amelia’s file attracted attention. Allwyn decided to send a former police officer, now a private detective, to Amelia’s home three times. The aim was to find out why this pensioner was earning ‘too much’. The detective even asked for her bank statements and photographed her passport.
‘I was treated like some kind of criminal,’ says Amelia. ‘It made me feel very uncomfortable and upset.’
A diplomatic… and clumsy operator
Allwyn defends itself by explaining that this is a ‘new process’ for winnings of £500.01 to £50,000 (€587 to €58,700), now handled by Post only below £500. The company insists on the need to ‘maintain the integrity of the lottery’ and says it wants to provide ‘as positive an experience as possible’.