Oh, it never ceases to amaze me how cunning scam artists are becoming. It seems like whenever a large jackpot has been won, the scams start rolling in. The latest comes out of Edmonton and it involves a whopping $50 million jackpot.

The Unclaimed Prize

December 20, 2013, the numbers, 2, 13, 18, 24, 27, 37, and 43, were drawn and there was a single winning ticket—except no one claimed the prize! The Canadian Lottery Corporation gives the winner of the jackpot a full year to claim their prize, just in case they forget to check their tickets (how often does that happen??) or they have lost the winning ticket and they are trying to prove they are the winners.

If the prize wasn’t claimed within that year, it would have been the largest unclaimed jackpot in Canada’s history. The current largest unclaimed prize was in 2006 to the tune of $14.9 million, which was added back to the prize pool.

Mid-June 2014, an Edmonton couple finally came forward and claimed their prize. Andrea and Bill Groner sat on their good news for six months, just to process the news and come to terms with the massive win.

Now that the couple has finally come forward and claimed Lotto Max jackpot, millions of Canadians can get some sleep and stop looking for that missing ticket!

Scams Straight from the Spam Box

While the Groner’s were debating on what to do with their winnings, some shady people were already plotting on how to exploit the situation and trick unsuspecting people out of their hard earned money.

A woman in Vancouver received an email that was riddled with typos stating she was one of “six lucky individual all over the world” who would be able to receive $1 million from the people who won the $50 million jackpot.

The email was supposedly sent from the Groners and it stated that the recipient of the email would have to “get back to us with your details so we can forward it directly to the payout bank.”

Now if that isn’t suspicious enough, a second email was sent, and in this it asked for the recipient to include their driver’s license number or a passport number. The email also claimed “This is a life time opportunity and 100% legitimate.”

The email also included four photographs of the Groners, as if that would somehow vouch for the validity of the email and its claims. Of course, the scammers just took pictures that they could find around on the internet.

Lack of Protection for the Winners

I have a gripe with the lottery agencies. What baffles me is that they are well aware that scams pop up and they use the names, photographs, and personal information of the lottery winners. Why is it necessary for the winners to come forward with where they live, their names, and a recent photograph? How is that safe for the winners?

Sure, they decide to play the lottery and they know that if they should win, they will have to make an announcement… But come on! With all the crazies popping out of the woodwork, who knows what kind of danger they are being put in. Sure, the lottery officials tell you to be cautious of social media and get an unlisted phone number, but that isn’t always enough. Then, if they are being used as some part of a scam, think of all the disgruntled victims who may have fallen for the said scam? That is adding another layer of danger to the lotto winners!

In my opinion, the winners should be able to go through an intermediary to keep their identities private—just for safety reasons. People go crazy when money is involved.

You’ve Got Mail? Put It Here!

For many people, playing the lottery is more than a random game of chance. It is a game that involves a lot of praying, rituals, charms, and even magic! How far some people are willing to go to win the lottery is a little alarming, if not scary.

Lottery Rituals

If you know someone with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), you may be familiar with rituals and how important they are to the person. They just don’t feel right unless the ritual is performed perfectly every time. These rituals can be as simple as checking the door to see if it is locked several times, to being more extreme like washing your hands multiple times under hot water.

Lottery players have their own rituals they firmly believe in. Some people use a mild form of ritualization when they are playing the lotto. These rituals include placing a newly purchased ticket in a pocket-sized Bible and placing a golden cross on top before bedtime. Another carries a “God Rock” with them.

Non-religious rituals include having a beer before checking the lottery, placing the tickets under bobble heads of their favorite sports players. Some wear lucky shirts when purchasing tickets while other use lucky pens. Hey… If it works for them, who am I to criticize?

I Put a Spell on You… PowerBall Machine!

Call me a skeptic, but relying on voodoo to win the lottery is a little far-fetched. I’m a firm believer in fate and destiny, so you would think that magic and voodoo aren’t too far out of my realm of belief… But, eh. Magic is a little… Out there?

According to Doktor Snake, you’d be foolish not to use a voodoo spell to play the lottery. He states that “you’re at a serious disadvantage,” and that you “need a helping hand—a powerful spiritual helping hand.” But, isn’t that why many lottery players turn to their religious deity for help?

I digress. Doktor Snake will send you a Mojo Hand (a voodoo amulet that the mighty Doktor with a K makes themselves). This amulet possesses a powerful voodoo spell that is created to guide your lottery dreams into reality.

Here’s a snippet from the voodoo Doktor’s site and tell me if you believe it’s legit.

MOJO: The main thrust of the spellworking is to create a spiritually charged Mojo Hand, a voodoo amulet made by me, which is a material manifestation of power working on your behalf to bring your lottery and gambling dreams into reality.

POWER: In order to divest the mojo hand with this power I perform a specialist hoodoo ritual in a cemetery at midnight at a specially chosen grave – an old time gambler’s grave. I call up his spirit and give him an offering of rum and cigars, which he is as rabid-crazy about in death, as he was in life.

LIFE: Then I petition the gambler’s spirit to enter the mojo hand, bestowing it (and the roots and curios inside) with numinous power. This brings the mojo hand to life, turning it into a living, breathing artifact that works 24/7 to bring you the winning edge when you play the lottery.

Oh, but it gets even better! Want to know how much this will cost you? A whopping £170 ($265 USD approx). Oh, but if you prefer, the Doktor can do the voodoo spell without sending you the Mojo Hand! Because, you know, who would want to spend almost $300 on a spell and have nothing to show for it?

Sounds like the good Doktor is trying to win a jackpot of his own creation!

Courting Lady Luck is a Tricky Game to Play

Maybe I’m too much of a cynic, but I’m not one to go all out on superstitious things. If Lady Luck is on your side, then that’s great. If she isn’t… Well, better luck next time. What are some of your lucky rituals? Do you believe in crazy gimmicks like voodoo spells or chants in order to with the lotto?

Do You Believe in Lottery Rituals? Let’s find out!

Looking for a Job? Buy a Lottery Ticket Instead

Less than 12 months ago, Margaret Loughrey went out to find a job at the local job centre. When she left the centre, she stopped and purchased a EuroMillions lottery ticket. This particular ticket was a winner, thus turning Margaret into a multi-million dollar winner over night.

How much did she win? Oh, just a measly £26,863,588.20. Needless to say, she isn’t hard pressed for money or a job anymore.

When she was asked, Margaret revealed that she didn’t have immediate plans for the winnings, but she does want to “make a lot of people happy,” but does not intend on leaving her hometown.

Margaret said to the Mirror: “I left the house on Tuesday because I heard there was a job advertised and I wanted to apply for it.

“So I went to the Jobcentre and printed out the job application before going to Supervalu.

“I can’t always afford to do the Euromillions but I had a couple of extra pounds in my purse and just on the spur of the moment I did a Lucky Dip.”

Down and Out Locksmith Turned Millionaire

Margaret isn’t the only unemployed person who has won the lottery. In Maryland, Rodriquez DaCosta bought a PowerBall ticket and won a second-tier prize amounting to $1 million. Not too bad for a former locksmith.

At the time he purchased his ticket, DaCosta had lost his job earlier in the year and also lost his apartment. Because of this, he had been staying with his friends in Elkton, Maryland. He decided to purchase a ticket at the Happy 40 Liquor store.

When he talked about his plans for the winnings, DaCosta intended on using his winnings ($650,000 after taxes) to pay off bills, go on a vacation, and then enrolling in a technical school or community college to study computer sciences. He also intends on setting up a retirement fund and living off the interest.

Goodbye 16 Years of Employment—Hello Millions!

Massoud Ardalan purchased a winning lottery ticket in March last year and won an astounding $33 million in the SuperLotto Plus jackpot.

Ardalan had been out of work since November 2012, where he was laid off from a company that he dedicated 16 years of his life to. When Ardalan decided he was craving pumpkin seeds, he hopped in his vehicle and drove to the Heather Farm Shell Gas Station on Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek, California.

His winning ticket was the only winning ticket and if they were to choose the payout, they would get $23.8 before taxes. There is no word on what the couple plans to do with the winnings.

Questions For You

What would you do if you were unemployed and won the lottery? Would you take this opportunity to rethink your career? Or would you say screw it and never go back to work?

We’re waiting for your comments on Big Winners, Big Losers and Crazy Lottery Stories thread.

How to Check If You Can Play Online Lottery from Your Country?

We cannot count how many times we have been asked if country X can play the lottery in country Y. We try to be as accommodating as possible and while we have no problems answering these questions, especially when you submit them onto LottoExposed Forum, sometimes it feels like a broken record.

Ah, but we get it. It’s easier to ask your question rather than sift through hundreds of articles and who knows how many questions whose answers may not be exactly what you’re looking for. We’ve all been there!

This article will serve as an impromptu FAQ of sorts to international online lotteries. We want to clear the air on some of the most common questions that we’ve been asked. So without further ado, let’s get to it!

How do I know if I can play Country X’s lottery?

Well, for the majority of international lotteries, you can play their lottery as long as your own country allows for it. What do I mean by this? Well, since I live in the USA, I cannot play international lotteries from the comfort of my own home. The lottery commission in the US has made gambling via phone, internet, and mail illegal (they say it’s a safety concern and are protecting us…).

You will want to check with your own county lottery commission to see their particular laws and stipulations when it comes to international lotteries. Typically countries that have an international lottery will allow you to play other country’s lotteries. Surprisingly, Wikipedia has a detailed list of lotteries that are available by country.

If you are using a third person retailer like TheLotter.com, Congalotto.com, or WinTrillions.com, these sites will tell you if you can play, usually when you start the registration process or somewhere listed in the FAQ page. A good rule of thumb is, though, if the site does not have your language or your currency listed, chances are you may not be to play.

After I’ve Chosen My Numbers, How Do I Pay?

When you’ve chosen your numbers, you’re going to have to pay. How each of these sites handles their payment options may vary slightly. Most times, you will be able to use your credit card (don’t worry, the sites are encrypted and are secured). Some sites will allow you to use other payment methods such as PayPal, WebMoney, BitCoin, and others. You will want to check with the site to see how exactly the site accepts payment.

If I Live in Another Country, How Do I Collect My Winnings?

In the incredible chance that are a winner from one of these lotteries, it’s only natural that you will want to know how you’ll collect your winnings. Usually, if you are joining a third person retailer site like the aforementioned sites, you will be required to sign up for an account—these are free for the most part. We have yet to run into a site that charges a membership fee. When you win, your winnings will be transferred to your account within 24 hours of the official announcement of the winning lottery numbers.

From here, you can withdraw the payment to your selected payment method or you can just leave the winnings in your account and use that money for future lottery tickets.

When it comes to jackpots, each site has their own policy. Most sites will require that you go to their office in person to collect the large sum of money. You will want to check with your home country’s policies on how they handle foreign lottery winnings. This can be done by contacting the lottery commission and/or tax offices.

The Love for Lottery – For the Love for Lottery…

Nothing can ever begin without mentioning the love for lottery, for the love for lottery. It has been a while since I purchased my last lottery ticket – precisely 18 hours ago, and I’m starting to think it has been forever. This happens for a lot many reasons: 1. I just can’t get enough or 2. I need to friggin’ win the jackpot! How many lottery tickets am I supposed to buy to finally win one day? I know I can’t give up and it’s not like I have too much money to spend, I make enough to purchase tickets for the love for the jackpot, but have I won anything yet? No. No, sir. Not yet. So you see where the frustration is coming from the right?

I buy tickets, more tickets, but I still end up with no jackpot. And I know I’m not alone. The Lady Luck is very smart – she has her own ways, and apart from the fact that she’s completely forgotten about me, she has her own secrets. Lucky charms, I’ve got about nine now because I believe nine will bring luck to me. These are all superstitions and mind you, I didn’t go out to buy them – they were gifted to me by ex-lottery winners. I chose to keep nine because hey, lucky numbers might matter one day! Did they matter up until now? No, sir. Enough ranting, I assume, let’s get down to business, shall we?

Lottery Business Models – Insured vs. Uninsured Lottery Tickets

So what exactly is this all about, you wonder? Well, let’s get the simple one out of the agenda – the uninsured lottery ticket. Uninsured lottery tickets are those that you virtually buy through an agent like TheLotter.com, for instance. We’re clear here? Let’s get to the more complex type of model – the insured lottery tickets. Now we all know that there are many, many sites where you can play the lottery online. The only difference is the payout system, which varies from one site to another. As a general rule of thumb players who manage to match all the winning numbers are paid first, followed by others who match some.

The person who matches all the numbers wins the jackpot, and if there’s a twist, he might be sharing it with a few others! Now once you hit the jackpot, you can’t just walk out with the full amount in one stroke. Lottery officials pay in parts for a period of up to 30 years or less. Assuming that you’re immortal, which I know you aren’t, you’d have to be either happy with your partial amount or wait as long as it takes to receive it. Now this payout system gave birth to the insured lottery ticket – a miraculous ability to claim the full amount at the wink of an eye. Now don’t get too excited here!

The Benefits of Insured Lottery Tickets

A friend of mine was talking about insuring his lottery ticket, and before I knew what it was all about, I thought he had literally lost his mind. Let me explain how this works. If you insure your lottery ticket, you receive the insured payout even if the winning numbers, matching those that you picked during the first draw, are drawn second time in the game. Suppose you haven’t purchased a lottery ticket for the second draw, you still get to bring home a portion of the actual reward amount. The biggest advantage of insured lottery tickets is that the player gets down payment of the entire prize money as soon as results are announced.

Is Insured Lottery Ticket a Smart Investment?

Before I answer this question, let me ask you one question. Are you playing the lottery for recreational purpose or for making some serious income? If it is for recreational purpose, insuring your lottery ticket makes no sense at all. Second of all, the numbers that you picked, have you done a background check? Do you believe that you picked the right winning numbers? If you are a cautious type, i.e. you like to plan your every move, then insured lottery tickets are definitely something you should consider. The last step is to consider the percentage of the jackpot amount you’re willing to invest to insure your lottery ticket. Once you have this checked out, you will be in a better position to determine whether insured lottery tickets are a smart investment.

My 2 Cents – Take It!

Take a look at the bigger picture here. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve always just bought tickets online i.e. uninsured tickets and no matter what numbers I pick, I’ve never managed to hit the jackpot. If you’re telling me that insured lottery tickets will gain me the supernatural powers of winning the jackpot, I kid you not; I wouldn’t believe it and I don’t want it! That’s just me. About you, it really depends on your individual likes and plans. If you truly believe that the lottery ticket you have today is the key to millions tomorrow, go ahead and insure it. Remember, it’s an investment and like any investment, you can never guarantee 100% success. In the end, it all depends on the mysterious Lady Luck… doesn’t it?

Let’s move to the forum and discuss the difference between Insured Lottery Tickets and Uninsured Lottery Tickets in more detail.

Playing the Lotto, the LotoRainbow Way!

Just when you though playing the lottery was pretty cut and dry, there is a new way being introduced to the public that claims to help improve your odds. The latest method introduces the idea that winning numbers have a particular behavior patterns. LotoRainbow has combined math and colors to give you a better understanding of how the lottery numbers “behave” and this method is intended to give you a clear visualization of the lotto results.

Introducing the Method

LotoRainbow operates behind the belief that when you are comparing an expected behavior with an actual result, you will be able to use logic when choosing your winning numbers. In order to do this, you will need to study a group of templates (more on that later) that have the biggest difference when it comes to possible results.

There are two particular strategies that you can choose from when employing this method, advanced and delayed.

The advanced method allows you to bet on a group of numbers that are selected more frequently than others. The site uses the phrase “in fashion” when talking about these numbers because they consistently are being selected more than others.

The delayed method has you selecting numbers from groups that are not chosen as frequently and you believe the numbers reduce their lateness and will eventually be chosen.

Once you’ve chosen your method, you will have to look at the templates that coincide with the particular game and method you’ve selected.

Oh, the Pretty Colors!

If you go to the LotoRainbow site and familiarize yourself with the charts, this is what you will see. This chart is pretty self-explanatory. Every game uses this number system in their charts.

The game template is where the fun begins. With this chart, it shows you the color distribution for a particular game. The organization of the template makes it easier for you to understand the possibilities of a certain lottery game and you can choose your numbers accordingly. LotoRainbow claims that these templates are backed by real facts from lotteries all over the world. Now the legitimacy of this claim is rather up in the air because there doesn’t seem to be current proof on the site of these templates.

The site has a table of theoretical probabilities, which looks something like this:

This particular chart is for the Super Sena game. It shows you the probability of a template being used in every 100 drawings and the calculations can be confirmed by the drawings map for that game. The site also goes one step further to simplify the number selection process by splitting the colored templates into two separate groups.

• Types classify templates by the number of times colors repeat.
• Starts are classified by the color at the beginning of a template and the probability of how many times it will show up.

The site believes that these groupings will let you quickly identify which “template region” has the largest difference between the drawings and the intended results.

Conclusion: CONFUSION?

Now I don’t consider myself a dummy by any stretch of the means, but this LotoRainbow method seems incredibly involved and confusing to me. Colors and numbers, probabilities and different methods. It’s just… Maybe I’m over thinking things?
What do you think?

Have you had any experience with using the LotoRainbow method? Has it worked for you? Share your experience!

Spending Money to Make Money… Is It Really Worth It?

You’ve heard the age old adage that you’ve got to spend money to make money. Now, while this is true to a certain degree, there has got to be a point where you say screw it and just stop throwing your hard earned money down the drain and pocketing it?

This quandary has been around for a long time, and in all honesty, it

The Experiments

There have been numerous experiments where people have taken $100 and purchased 100 scratch off tickets. The experiment is to see how much money can be won if you play these scratch offs. The result is rather abysmal.

One person won as much as $41 while another won $38. When you think about it, you are losing a lot of money. Oh! And what about if you spend a large amount on scratch offs every week or every day? When you look at it that way, it’s such a waste of both time and energy!

The Breakdown

Now, I’m going to be honest. I am cheap and broke, otherwise I would do this experiment myself. It would be interesting to see with my own eyes the results. But, alas, I am a college student who makes ends meet by writing (the perpetual starving artist, that’d be me!). So instead of giving you first hand numbers, I will relay information from the experiments I’ve stumbled across.

Monetary Investment

• $100 for the tickets
• Estimated $10 for gas use and extra purchases made at the store (how many times have you went into a store and purchased JUST lotto tickets?)

Time Investment

• 30 minutes researching games with the best odds of winning
• Estimated 15 to 30 minutes going to purchase tickets
• 60 to 120 minutes scratching the tickets and double checking them

Emotional Investment

• Hopeful
• Anger
• Sadness
• Desperation
• Regret

All in all, you are going to spend $110 and potentially walk away less than half of that! Let’s not forget the approximate 3 hours of time you will never get back.

We cannot forget the emotional turmoil that you are putting yourself through. While you are sitting on the edge of your couch, your emotional responses go all over the place. You can be ecstatic when you win and then as the pile of losing tickets mount up, you slip deeper and deeper into despair and anger, when you ultimately reach anger and regret.

It’s Time for Math!

Now, while people may not shell out $100 at a clip on these scratch offs, how about we say they spend $100 a month. Let’s do some math here.

Money Spent — 110 x 12 = $1,320 a year

Time Spent — 180 x 12 = 2,160 minutes (36 hours or 3 days) a year

Let’s say someone does this every year for the next 20 years.

Money Spent – 1320 x 20 = $26,400

Time Spent – 2160 x 20 = 43,200 minutes (720 hours or 30 days)

A Realization

Now we know this is a one-time experiment and the people who did it only go through these things once. But for millions of people, they experience this kind of stuff sometimes on a regular basis. For many people who suffer from gambling addiction and they cannot live without this rush. While these numbers are made up, a lot of people spend more than this and often go into debt because of it. I understand that it is a personal choice and it is no different than spending $110 on a new pair of shoes every month—but the amount of time you spend and the emotional roller coaster that you go through… Is it really worth it in the long run?

Let us know Is It Ever Worth Playing the Lottery?

Uklottoservice.com and Wonderland

Popping into the online lottery service provider uklottoservice.com is like being Alice (as in Wonderland) and dropping down the rabbit hole. The farther you go, the weirder it gets. Uklottoservice.com is owned by a company called AD Management Ltd. It’s only one of the many sites they operate that provide a game platform to speculate on lotteries in a specific country. Does that sound confusing? Let me explain.

UK Lotto Service and Lotteries

This is not a place to come play your favorite ticket lines. Uklottoservice.com offers players a ‘club’ to join in various combinations. Keep in mind this is subscription based for a four week period that automatically renews. Each of their clubs has a different amount of people in them that share in the winnings. Let’s take their “System 4” which involves a player picking four numbers and uklottoservice.com guaranteeing a winning 5th number. There are ten people in the club. Players can quick pick their 4 numbers or use their favorite numbers to win.

Winning at Uklottoservice

This is where things start to get grey. Though they say players will receive 100% of their prize money, our team couldn’t find anywhere that actually said that they get the face value of the winning ticket. I also noted that they cap any wins over £350,000. That is the limit they will pay for each year until the total amount has been paid out. So, basically if they go for the lump sum, they’ve got all the cash and then slowly pay you out.

Who Are They?

Uklottoservice.com is owned by a company called Ad Management Ltd. They are registered in Malta, though in their terms and conditions they say “the contract venue for the license for offering Lotto bets is Costa Rica”. Folks – note the word “bets”. In delving deeper, we found out that supposedly there are great benefits for setting up a business in Malta including tax exemptions and the ability to register a company very fast. Companies can register there and be considered a resident with all funds held in another country. Also, WHOIS says that hosting country is the Bahamas. All this is pretty confusing.

What Else Does Ad Management Ltd Do?

These guys have registered a multitude of companies that concentrate on lotteries in specific countries, including svenskalotto.com, austrianlotto.com, canaloto.com, irishlottoservice.com, danlotto.com, kiwilottoservice.com, oslottoservice.com, netherlandselottoservice.com and then we stopped looking. What was really frustrating is all of their sites are mirrored (they look the same) with the same limited information.

Uklottoservice.com and Customer Service

Though there is a snail mail address at the bottom of the page for where they are registered, you’re already noted that their operating venue is Costa Rica. It was really interesting to see the amount of businesses registered at the same address.

Worse – the only contact information available on the site is by email and that is during business hours with no information on quickly they will respond.

The Bottom Line at Uklottoservice.com

Boy, I got nervous just opening up their sites. At one point, our team had all their computers up and running on their different sites to see how much they are exact with only the currencies changing and how they package their specific betting deals. Note – I say betting deals and not the ability to buy lottery tickets online.

Pros:

Club sharing for winnings to better the odds
Subscriptions so you don’t miss a draw
Are you kidding me?

Cons:

No idea their payout on winnings
No idea if they really exist
Betting versus real tickets

These folks get a serious thumbs down. There is nothing to say they are scamming and we did do a pretty thorough search for complaints, but – yes the big but – there is nothing here that gives our team confidence that they actually pay out or what they pay out. I really started thinking I was about to meet the Mad Hatter!

Join the Uklottoservice Live Discussion and let us know your opinion.

Stefan’s Winslips Lottery System

According to Stefan Vandevelde, WinSlips is the world’s best lottery system. It’s an online software that players use through their browser. According to Stefan, it is “powered by an enhanced version of two lottery systems previously known as the One Ticket System and the Inverted Lottery System”. It doesn’t claim to guarantee that big mega jackpot win, but claims to make it a lot easier for you to pick a possible jackpot ticket. So, how do they do it?

How WinSlips Works?

This is a web-based application. Stefan says there is no software required to use WinSlips, nothing is installed on your computer. Purchasing your membership gives you access to the site. Now I must confess I roll my eyes when someone uses terminology like “logging into a secret page”. Basically, there is no way to find out how exactly it works until you take a guest membership – which is free. I don’t like the idea of providing my email address simply to get more information, but do not know who they are. I get nervous when anyone uses terms like “hidden information” and “uncensored screenshots” to dress up what looks like simply another lottery system.

Buying Into Winslips.com

Players can choose Econo (30 days), Standard (90 days), Premium (180 days) or Ultimate (360 days) plans, with options on auto renewal. Just beware if you decide to go past the guest membership on whether the auto renewal is checked or not. I did chuckle on the Ultimate Plan because with their $10 off coupon, it’s about the same price as their premium. These kinds of sales gimmicks always make me edgy.

Lottery Games that Work with Winslips

Stefan underlines that his lottery system is not limited to US Powerball and provides a page of different lotteries it will work with. It won’t work with Pick 3 lotteries, but deals with most of the regular lotteries like Canada’s Lotto Max and EuroMillions. It was interesting to see such a comprehensive list of where lotteries are currently being played. I just wish there was a more comprehensive list of how to get in touch with Stefan.

Customer Service

There is no customer service, no phone numbers, addresses or email addresses get in touch with Stefan and winslips.com – there is simply an online form. I would not have been surprised if the players were simply purchasing a book or software. But the fact that you are playing online through their provider/server, I would need to know a lot more about WinSlips. Then again, part of me wondered if this was just a way to get email addresses. Stefan even goes so far to say he is not sure how soon he will be able to answer and blames this on time zones.

Who is Stefan?

Stefan Vandevelde is originally from Belgium and currently residing in the Canary Islands. He says he has written heaps of books on lottery systems and that WinSlips is the culmination of a year of working on numbers. It would have helped the legitimacy of his site if he showed something he had purchased as a result of the system. Then again, maybe that’s one of the “secret pages” that players get access to once they get a guest membership.

What About Lottery Systems

There are a lot of arguments on lottery systems – whether they increase your odds of winning. Most agree that some of them can increase regular small wins especially a steady practice of purchasing tickets but no system exists that can actually ensure you win that big mega jackpot. Stefan doesn’t actually claim this, but he does say that winning isn’t just luck.

The Bottom Line

If I am going to consider a lottery system to help play lotteries to win, I certainly want more information from the start. I don’t want to be teased with taglines like WinSlips uses – oh sorry, I should say Stefan.

Pros:

None

Cons:

Too Little Info
Where is Stefan?

Our team gives WinSlips a thumbs down. If you want to learn more about lottery systems check out our other articles. There are some lottery systems that can increase your odds of winning, but sorry Stefan, it does take some luck!

Feel free to add your comment to the WinSlips Lottery System forum thread.

LottoExposed Forums – A Safe Way to Bust Balls

We’ve heard time and again how certain lottery players are scammed and left to suffer – most of them are either first time players or (and unfortunately) senior citizens. Now you might think, “Wait what? What has LottoExposed got to do with it?” I’ll come to that shortly, patience my boy, patience!

The Crooked World of Lottery

When people think of the lottery, all they can imagine is an excited person sitting on a couch, eating away the potato chips (like there’s no tomorrow!) and flipping channels – (I’m) patiently waiting for the lottery draw! It really isn’t that simple. People play the lottery for two major reasons – to become rich or to become filthy rich. But like every cloud has a silver lining, the world of lottery is full of crooks. Crooks, who share the same reasons as those of a lottery player – to become rich, not by playing the lottery, but by conning innocent lottery players.

The Need for LottoExposed Forum

LottoExposed Forums are for the people, by the people. A lottery player, after being scammed, has been able to spread the news of the scam to just a small percentage of people, that included his friends and family. Now people have the power to speak up, to ask, to confirm and to avoid being scammed because we limelight scams and provide people all the information they need to know before they make their decision. LottoExposed Forums have different topics, each carefully allotted to different lottery experts, all dedicated to answering your questions and clearing your doubts. We take pride in what we do – we expose the world of lottery so you can enjoy winning without being conned.

All Rise – Here Comes LottoExposed

Because the world of lottery is full of crooks, you need somebody, rather something that can protect lottery lovers from being scammed – even by cheap marketing stunts carried out by ridiculous companies and their super ridiculous products! Because crooks were multiplying faster than rats, someone had to take control. LottoExposed – a team of experienced lottery players and investigators, was put together to do two things:

1. To keep their eyes peeled out for anything that smelled fishy,
2. To alert you and provide that information to you so you can avoid being scammed.

When it comes to the world of lottery, getting down to the truth behind lottery products and sites requires lots of patience, lots of in-depth analysis and a lot of time – in short it’s a big challenge. It doesn’t stop there, the expert team was handed another responsibility, which was:

3. Read the small print and alert players.

You see, when players find out the mount of jackpot offered in a certain lottery game, they naturally get excited and most of the time, they forget to read the terms – the small print that says “Terms and Conditions Apply”!

Whether you are one of the millions who buy lottery tickets offline or over the Internet, LottoExposed.com is going to help you choose the very best partners!

GeoLotto.com and Your Piece of the UK

The latest newbie game on the block is GeoLotto. It’s a game that uses google maps for players to buy sites in the UK versus lottery numbers. This new game is not so new and was originally called GeoSweep. This not so popular game was revamped and re-launched from a daily draw to a weekly draw. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation in Canada also ran GeoSweep for a while and then packed it in. I’m not sure why they think simply changing the name will make it work, but let’s take a look at what it is.

The Game at GeoLotto

At GeoLotto.com players chose their location versus lottery numbers. You can find your home, your office or chose some famous landmark like Stonehenge or a piece of your favorite football team’s stadium. Once a week on Saturdays, the draw takes place. Using google maps, GeoLotto has divided the UK into 44,404,000 pieces. They use a Hardware Random Number Generator with the whole process certified by the UK Gambling Commission.

Geo Lotto and Winning

The jackpot draw of £1 million is based on all the pieces, hence the odds are 1:44,404,000. Each piece is part of a group – there are 20 in total. The jackpot square determines the group that any player who has a piece in that group wins £5. They estimate the ability of 2,020,199 pieces could win. The reason the number is not 2,020,200 is that the person who wins the jackpot can’t win the £5. The rest of the mid-range prizes from 15 of £100,000 down to £25 are picked randomly from the rest of the pieces. It is underlined that no one can win two prizes, so I’m not sure what would happen if a player won the £5 and then their piece came up for the £100,000.

Who Can Win?

We’re talking a game that choses UK land sites so it is not much of a surprise that players must be from Great Britain (England, Scotland & Wales), the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. The T&Cs point out residents of Northern Ireland are excluded. Weird eh!

Players must also be over the age of 18. With an overall population of 64 million people (2013 figures), that puts about 48 million over the age of 18. Remember, I am not a mathematician, but I wonder how many people actually play.

Who is GeoLotto?

GeoLotto is run by Geo24uk. Its technology platform is operated by Geonomics with support from Tipp24. Tipp24 has some equity interest in GeoLotto and is a London based company that has shares listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. They operate a bunch of lottery based sites.

Asking for Help

GeoLotto was fast at getting back through their email address with a turnaround on questions of less than 24 hours. There is no online chat, but they do have a free phone number available UK hours, seven days a week and a snail mail address.

The Bottom Line

Part of me was very bemused by the concept of choosing a site versus lottery numbers. I mean, where do you think is lucky. I think this is one game that would take a heap of advertising to get people to play. There is no reason to think these people are not legit though I’m not sure how long this game will survive given the history.

Pros:

A game platform actually registered in the UK
Not expensive to play
Good odds to get your investment back

Cons:

ONLY FOR UK RESIDENTS
Does not include Northern Ireland residents
ONLY FOR UK RESIDENTS

If you live in the UK excluding Northern Ireland, this could be a bit of a lark. The odds of recovering your £1 investment for a piece are pretty good. Me, I’ll stick to good old fashion lotteries.

Wait, wait, wait… Don’t leave! Join the GeoLotto Live Discussion and let’s talk.

Mr Lottery System – The First Look

When I first heard about Mr Lottery System, I thought, well here’s another site I’d have to review and what a task it would be… but here’s the good news. There’s no site. Yeah, it’s a free blog that is administered by a David Laster, who I assume calls himself Mr Lottery. Here’s what I saw on the blog,

“Weekly blog listing of lottery numbers posted by David Laster aka Mr Lottery 15, Dr Lottery and also simply Mr Lottery. Addition, Rundown and Subtraction are posted every Sunday morning. Other numbers posted throughout the week. Lottery Numbers, Cash 3, Cash 4, Helping people realize their dreams through the Pick 3 lottery since 1997 Lottery Results “Mr Lottery Turns Your Ticket Into Cash”…”

Now what surprises me is that Mr Lottery System has been available since 1997, how come it isn’t as popular as other lottery software? Maybe the guy wants to keep things simple, or maybe none of the tickets were turned into cash!

What Mr Lottery System Is All About

It’s about cheap marketing stunts that include tons of “call today” and a million question marks in one post. I actually find that really annoying, I feel like the one writing this must doubt himself so much because almost every sentence ends with a question mark instead of a full stop? See? That’s what I mean. Apart from that he keeps publishing his email address asking people to email him and his phone number for people to call. It’s rather weird why a lot of important information is not disclosed on his site. At the end of every post he says,

!!! Big Money!!! Big Money!!!
“Mr Lottery Turns Your Ticket Into Cash”

Seriously, What Is It About?

From what I have read so far, he posts winning numbers along with an unrelated video clip of Janet Jackson and is almost getting ready for a big holiday – thanks to the people who secretly bought his product. He is quoted saying,

“My business offers great service. We strive for 100% customer satisfaction and will do what it takes to make our customers happy. The buck stops here so there are no rules getting in the way of our ability to get customers exactly what they need. **Play at your own risk-entertainment purposes only”!!!”

This clearly means that he is charging for these services so they’re not FREE, I repeat they’re not FREE! My question is that how can you claim that you strive for 100% customer satisfaction when you don’t provide any information at all about yourself or the kind of cost you charge? Now remember shallow waters are always deep.

My 3 Cents on Mr Lottery System

If you want to try a product, what it is that you check for first? Reviews. If there are no reviews then you see if the price is small enough to not matter, what if there’s no price? What kind of customer service can you expect from a business that doesn’t disclose important information like the details about the creator or system, the case studies of people who used it, testimonials and price? In my experience, chuck this and move on. You might want to give it a try, but I’m sure that it’s not going to work because it just won’t.

What do you think about this now? Has anyone tried Mr Lottery?

Incredible Journeys of Lottery Winners

Have you ever wondered how people spend their millions when they hit that jackpot? One of the first things many people would do is going on a trip around the world, much like Matt Myles has done.

The 27-year old Myles quits his menial job where he worked the night shift in a factory, and began his world class jaunt around the world. His first stop is Indonesia, long before his £1million winnings have been deposited into his account! Of that £1million he has dedicated £100,000 of it strictly to be used for a year-long tour around the world.

Since the beginning of his lavish tour around the world, he has been to Hong Kong, Bali and Thailand. Oh, he isn’t traveling along though! His brother is along for the expense free ride too! (Wish I had a family member who would treat me to a year round, expense paid trip all around the world!) The duo went to Brazil to watch the World Cup; and, even though England failed to perform well, the mood was not damped at all!

His plans include visiting Machu Picchu in Peru, going to Australia to dive at the Great Barrier Reef, go bungee jumping in the Grand Canyon, and cruise down the famous Route 66 in a Ford Mustang. Oh, it doesn’t stop there! He also plans to canoe down the Amazon, visit the Great Wall of China and see the pyramids. Of course, while sight-seeing, he plans on taking a vacation from his vacation to really live it up and enjoy the nightlife that Ibiza has to offer. Then he wants to get in touch with his humanitarian side and volunteer with Unicef in Africa for 3 months.

Before he won, Myles was working the night shift and was afraid that he may have to move back home so that he could save some money. Although, since the win, he has been spending his winnings with an unabashed gusto. He has invested half of the money and has out a lot of the remaining winnings into creating a property business with his friends. Oh, and he hopes to begin training as an airline pilot. It is safe to say that Myles has a passion for life!

Other Big Winners

While Myles may have gone on a lavish trip around the world, not every lotto winner has the same idea on how to spend those winnings. In case of the Weir couple who won £161million back in July of 2011, they spent millions on luxury vehicles for their friends, a hillside property that cost £850,000 for themselves and gave their old £220,000 home to the young mother that lived next door.

The Dawes won £101 million in October of 2011. During this time, they were able to plan for an over the top wedding, but they chose to have a low key ceremony instead. There were only five guests in attendance. To celebrate, they toasted with a £250 bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne and stayed in a hotel where the expensive bridal suite cost only £230 per night.

Rags to Riches to Coffin

Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending. That is the case for David Lee Edwards, an unemployed ex-convict who amazingly won $27 million in the PowerBall. Edwards died in December of 2013 while living in a hospice care facility at the age of 58.

Edwards was a drug addict who spent almost a third of his life in prison for theft. When he was released from prison, he was unemployed and living in his late parent’s home. He had to borrow money to keep the water on. Everything changed one day when he purchased $7 worth of Powerball tickets.
When he accepted his check, he seemed level-headed and stated: “I didn’t want to accept this money by saying I’m going to get mansions and I’m going to get cars, I’m going to do this and that,” he said while accepting his check. “I would like to accept it with humility. I want this money to last, for me, for my future wife, for my daughter and future generations.”

Of course, that didn’t happen. Soon, he spent his millions on the typical cars, vacations, mansions, and so forth. But life took a tough turn. He had blown through $3 million of his money, 3 months, almost half of it in a year!

He surrounded himself with people who did drugs and he would eagerly supply them. At the time, he was married to a woman named Shawna who proved to be his downfall. She was in and out of drug rehab and the couple divorced and remarried and then divorced again.

During all of this chaos, Edwards had an 11 year old daughter to care for. Shawna has been known to wish that Edwards had set aside some money for the daughter. Edwards financial advisor has gone on record to say that he put about $16 million away in bonds and annuities, but Edwards had liquidated them before finally going completely broke.

Moral of the Story

The moral to the story is that the lottery can be both a blessing and a curse. For some, it can pave the way for incredible times and with smart investing and a good financial plan, the money can last for generations. Unfortunately, for others it can be a disaster—especially if you are surrounded by negative influences.

When you win the lotto… Please be smart and join our live discussion about the lottery winners.

California Lotteries at Lotterball.com – Only!

Can I put something on the table? I am really tired of online lottery providers that advertise the winners in general. Lotterball.com is just one more of these. I ask the question – has anyone actually won through their site versus simply posting the pics of the winners. I know I probably sound peevish, but seriously folks. I get that smart winners will do things to hide their identity, but someone out there must have actually won playing through an online lottery site. Okay, back to looking at lotterball.com – though I am already grumpy.

Noise, Noise, Noise

I don’t like online lottery sites that have all kinds of gimmicks and things that pop out all over the screen. Give me the bottom line every time. Lotterball.com does this with a side window that pops out offering free tutorials on playing. Put it away folks. It’s not that hard and I find it insulting that they think they need to add an in-your-face tutorial.

The other thing is their connect to ‘you tube’ all over their rules page. Each one links into a series of screen shots that provides a pictorial of the explanation on their rules page.

The Games at Lotterball

Lotterball.com is an online lottery service provider that offers six games played out of California – US Powerball, Mega Millions, SuperLotto Plus, Fantasy 5, Daily 3 and Daily 4. They do this for a flat fee of $1.33 service charge on top of the face value of each ticket.

Let’s Win at Lotter Ball

Any prize up to $600 is paid directly to your bank account within 2 to 3 days. Over $600, players receive a cashier’s check once the lottery pays out. They do say if you win that big jackpot, you must travel to California to pick up your cash yourself. Wow, wouldn’t that be cool. California lotteries are open to anyone internationally to play and are one of the few states that do not charge state tax on lotteries. Federal tax is applicable. There is no information on whether they have service charges on winning.

Who is Lotterball.com?

In the small print at the bottom of their site, it says “all trademarks are the property of calottery.com” but that’s it. They say they are an independent lottery service provider, but we were unable to confirm who they actually are! We’re still waiting for their answer by email.

Talking to Lotterball

There is no live chat which I figure should be pretty standard these days. Lotterball.com does have an online form, snail mail address and a California VoIP phone number and we were able to track down this is a Pacific Bell land line so I guess they are actually in California. There are no guidelines on when someone will be around to answer and their answering machine does some strange clicks.

Their site also will jump into Spanish, Russian and Korean with a simple click – and most of it actually makes sense.

Lotterball.com’s Bottom Line

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I certainly want more information on who an online lottery provider is before I start giving them my personal and credit card details. I get the Spanish language capability, but what is with Russia and Korea? Just seems like a very strange combo to me. Our team also noted that the pics that they show of winners are people who did it at their local corner store and not one claims they won through this online lottery provider.

Pros:

Flat service fee
No State Tax
Straightforward Games

Cons:

Who Are They?
What Do They Take on Wins?
When Will They Answer Our Emails?

Me, I like the flexibility of playing through an online lottery provider that allows me the choice of playing other international lotteries. Which reminds me – I have to get my Christmas El Gordo tickets still!

Do not be in a hurry to leave, better join the Lotterball Live Discussion.

Creative Way to Reveal Your Lottery Win to Family

Lottery fans have always dreamed of what they would do if they won the lottery. Some even fantasize about how they would reveal their incredible windfall to their loved ones.

Back in 2011, Poul Hjortbol from Denmark won 15 million kroner (approximately $2.7 million USD). Instead of keeping the news from his two teenaged boys, he sets the boys down for what appears to be a quaint celebration dinner.

The video starts with a big of alarming news, as he tells his boys that he quick his job and, understandably so, the boys are a bit shocked to hear the news. A few moments later, Poul explains that he has won a bit of money and proceeds to give the boys a few gifts—5000 kroner ($900 USD) and a new Apple iPad, each. Of course, the boys are ecstatic and in utter disbelief; one keeps repeating “oh my god” at one point. When they ask how much Poul has won, he says, has only won about 200,000 kroner ($35,000 USD).

Of course, this news sparks some excitement, but three minutes later after he and his teenage sons have a bit of celebratory champagne, Poul reveals that he has something more to tell them. He admits that he has lied to them. After a momentary pause, he reveals that he has won more money. When one of the boys asks how much, he says he has won over a million (kroner).

So it is no surprise when the boys can barely contain themselves when Poul hands them another 5000kr for themselves and then throws two more stacks of cash equaling 50,000kr ($9,000 USD) on the table, stating that they will go shopping the following day!

The Big Reveal

Another minute passes and they boys are back in their seats. Poul is still calmly sitting opposing them and he is not done yet! He tells them that the winnings are a lot more than a million kroner. Instead of telling the boys how much he won, he hands them what may be an award letter. When they scan the paper, they read in disbelief that the amount is actually a whopping 15 million kroner ($2.7 million USD).

Life After Lottery

After such a suspenseful reveal, you may wonder why the public is only now learning of the video and the win. When Poul first won, the 50-year old middle manager decided to keep things quiet. However, now he is featured in a Danish book, Taenk – Jeg Vandt (Think – I won) by Ole Stephensen. The book details the lives of several Danish lottery winners, and Poul is one of the stories.

Since winning the lottery, Poul has invested some of his winnings into a Danish website, but he has since declined to comment further.

Feel free to join our live Big Winners, Big Losers and Crazy Lottery Stories discussion.

Trick or Treat at Winloot.com

Looking at Winloot.com, our team had a chuckle. There was an argument on whether the name reminded them more of Halloween or bank robbers. Winloot is an email scavenger and advertising site that masks as a free daily sweepstakes. We’re not saying they aren’t for real, but it’s important to look at the details and know what you’re getting into. It’s pretty upfront with the fact that you have to go through a variety of promotional sites just to get registered. Want to know more? Let’s go take a look.

The Games at Winloot

This is another one of those combination email scavenger and advertising site. Before you get your numbers for the winloot.com sweepstake, you have to go through a variety of promotional sites. Each of their 12 sweepstakes involves this. Once you’ve responded to each of the promotions, then you pick your numbers (or use quick pick) for that particular sweepstake. There are chances to win $100, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, $100,000 and $1,000,000; $100 Bonus, $500 Bonus, $1,000 Bonus, $2,500 Bonus and $5,000 Bonus. But you have to play each one to get to the one million dollar sweepstakes – and you have to do it daily.

Winloot.com and Winning

Winners will be notified within thirty days after the draw. Then they – the winner(s) have thirty days to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release along with a recent picture. If you don’t do this within thirty days you forfeit the win. Winloot.com says that sweepstake number combinations can only be picked once at the same time they say if there are multiple winners, they share in the prizes. Okay folks, which is it?

Who Can Play at Winloot Website

Players must be 18 years of age and live in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK. Players in Puerto Rico and the Province of Quebec cannot play. Then in another part of their site, they say Winloot is ‘licensed and bonded’ in New York and Florida so people that live there are eligible to play. We’re not sure why they made this point or originally that was the target market, it expanded and they forgot to amend their text.

Complaints! Complaints! Complaints!

Looking at Winloot, it’s hilarious all the complaints – some quite creative. It’s a combination of people who say they have played for years and never won, and people who are still fighting their way through spam emails. One guy claims he started receiving up to 300 a day.

Who Is Winloot?

This site was created by ex-staff from Publishers Clearing House – one of the biggest free sweepstakes that masks email scavenging and advertising for an extensive product line. It appears Winloot.com simply copied the concept and opened up their own shop.
The only way to talk to Winloot.com is using their online form. Our team did dig deeper and tracked down a snail mail, email and telephone number, but it did take some digging and is not posted on their site.

The Bottom Line

Keep in mind that to get to the one million dollar sweepstakes draw, you have to play 11 other games and/or respond to various promotional advertising. If you have nothing better to do than sit and work your way through each, go for it. Add to that time, deleting (or responding to) lots and lots of spam email that will descend on your email address.

Pros:

Free
Daily Sweepstakes
Free

Cons:

Spam Emails
Time
Spam Emails

Folks, this is a company that is mining for email addresses and contact points to distribute to people that pay for these lists. Our team will not go so far as to say they are a scam, but personally I would stay away. One these guys get a hold of your email address and personal details, you have no idea how far they might share it!

Take your time and join the Winloot Live Discussion.

We Live in the Era of the Smart Phones and Stupid People

We live on our smart phones. These devices have become such a big part of our everyday lives that many of us can’t see going a day without them. We can manage our finances, watch videos, take pictures, and a plethora of other things to increase productivity, find information, and keep connected with the world.

With that said, when people ask if playing the lottery through our smart phones was a good idea, the thought is met with mixed reactions. On one hand, it can be a great way to play the lottery anywhere in the world, all from the palm of your hand—you figure, you already have that ability for the most part when you play through a lotto agency online. On the other, because the ability to play the lottery on your phone is still relatively new (it only became popular within the past few years), people are worried about the security and the safety of their personal information, rightfully so.

Meet the World Lottery Association

Did you know there was such a thing as the World Lottery Association? I surely didn’t! When it comes to all things related to the lottery around the world, the WLA has the answers for you. And when it comes to how mobile phones can be implemented in how the world can play various lotteries, they have an actual set of guidelines that the lottery industry must follow when making their games mobile phone accessible.

Some of these guidelines include game registration requirements, how to prevent attacks by Bluetooth, how to protect against replay, and security requirements such as encryption, authentication, and efficient session control.

The guide also goes over examples of prevention scenarios and it describes various ways the mobile application can keep their users safe and secure. The set of guidelines is actually an interesting read and it may ease some of your worries about playing a mobile lottery.

Don’t Forget About the Lottery Apps

There are many different apps available that can let you monitor lottery numbers and there are quite a few apps that allow you to participate in the game too. Unfortunately, if you live in the US, you are only allowed to play US games. There are some apps that use GPS tracking that will prevent you from purchasing an out of state lottery tickets!

If you live in a country where international lottery laws aren’t so restrictive, you may find that by downloading a lotto app is a fantastic way to play—especially if you do not have access to a computer.

The Scams via Text Messaging

Like all things, there are shady people out there who are always ready and willing to take a good thing and ruin it. There are many instances where people are sending out scams to people through their mobile phones under the guise of winning some kind of contest. While these SMS scams are well known, there are still some people who still fall for them, hook line and sinker. It is always recommended that you never respond to these messages that you receive from weird looking numbers.

In these messages, you are always told that your mobile number has won any particular amount of money and all you have to do is send an email or call some sort of foreign number. If you ever receive these type of text messages, never respond to them! If you respond to these messages, who knows what they can do. While you may not be participating in playing the lottery by text message, your phone does store information and who knows what kind of information could be obtained just by a responding text from you.

The Bottom Line

If you were to ask me if I think playing the lottery on my mobile idea was a good thing or not… I’d say why not. Just be sure that you have some kind of anti-virus protection on your mobile device and make sure the app that you are using has positive reviews and has well known and respective personal security measures in place. When you are satisfied that the mobile lottery is secure… Have fun and good luck!

Formula 1 Lotto – Straight From the Tracks!

Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to get royally screwed for opening my mouth (well, not literally) to review these insane products… and when that thought comes to my mind, I imagine a cartoon getting so pissed that I can’t help but laugh! Oh, and why a cartoon? Well, there are many reasons for that actually, 1. Cartoons don’t exist, 2. Cartoons aren’t real and 3. There’s no face behind these software… which technically makes me think that the promoters aren’t confident about their own merchandise.

So if they do come after me, well, I’ve got one thing to say, prove me wrong. On AIR. LIVE. With someone random. I can’t believe why people come up with software without even showing the public why they should trust them. These software products advertise themselves without even showing us, proving to us that they really, really work. Unless it’s an ad for a condom, in which case, it can’t be on AIR, LIVE and with someone random! You can’t really do much, but just guarantee that it won’t lead to bumps, but lotto software? Why do I get the feeling that your ads are similar to those for condoms?!

Digging Up Formula 1 – With Facts and Practicality

Right, so it’s become my passion to kind of see what the site looks like and what it claims to do… obviously it’s all the sweet talk, but what’s beneath that? Sometimes you just need to dig in a little deeper to uncover the true meaning behind it and I’ve found it, but you’ll have to wait and listen to me first! So I headed over to open their page and their first statement threw me off my chair,

“If You’re Fed Up Wasting Money Playing Lotto Week In Week Out and Never Winning Anything, Then Your Fortunes Are About To Change…..”

I was like whoa! This definitely is something, right?

I mean it was straight, to the point and precise, but then this happened,

“A 64 Year Old MIT Professor Has Spent The Last 27 Years Of His Life Perfecting a System That Will Win Lotto 8.7 Times Out Of Every 10 Games You Play… And Now He’s Giving YOU A Once In A Lifetime Chance To Own This System Before He Takes It Off The Market Forever… The Best Part Is YOU Cannot Lose With This System, Because It Comes With a 12 Month 100% Iron-Clad ‘Win Or You Get Your Money-Back Guarantee!”

Excuse me, but did you say a 64 year old? So for 27 years of his life he spent perfecting a system? Which means that at the age of 37, when he should have been doing something even better with his life, he started spending time on lotto… okay, granted, but if he spent 27 years of his life making a software product, why in the world would he take it off the market forever?

Has it failed so miserably that he’s trying to make up for the lost time with people’s money? Or are you trying to rush people into buying something quickly without having them think twice? I smell cheap marketing stunt… If it claims to work with a guarantee, why not show it live for people to see and applaud for your hard work? Forget the money-back guarantee, who is this 64 year old anyway? How many jackpots did he win? What is the reason of launching this software? If it really works, why in the world would he want to sell it when he can be the richest old man on the entire planet?!

Formula 1 Lotto System – Still Digging…

When I scrolled down I saw some images, possibly taken from Shutter Stock or other image license sites, I don’t know. But this caught my eye, “On the following page I’m going to show you the exact secret weapon I’ve used to win over $425,576 with lotto in the last 10 years…” so in order to win half a million dollars, I’ve got to wait like 10 years… why shouldn’t I just play the lottery instead, without using the software? There are lots of lottery players who have won millions and millions of dollars WITHOUT the use of software… I’ll take my chances without the software thank you! Oh, and just to confirm, you’ll see lots of testimonials and I searched all of them… none of those names exist! They don’t exist! So it’s all fake! The people are real, but those names… nope. Probably his people…

Then I must point out this, “Here are just a few of the hundreds of emails I’ve received from people just like you…” wait a minute! People like me? People like me would want you to get on TV, choose a random participant, I can volunteer (!), and show us live that the “weapon” really works. That’s what people like me would email you about! And I bet they have received emails like this and have they done anything about it? Nope. There’s not one video that shows how this thing works, there’s not one video that gets us a winner, so how in the world, in this 21st century, believe you?

If you scroll further down, yeah, after those fake emails, you’ll see this, “Luckily, I met Professor R., the Math Statistics Genius from the prestigious MIT University…” what the heck happened to his face? Oh, yeah, I forgot… they probably didn’t get a decent enough picture of a professor! Then more fake emails, fake videos, more fake emails and then this,

“Some people that used this software emailed me like crazy in order to stop me from selling this software. Some of them even bribed me. That’s just one part of it… The truth is that… (I have to admit this to you…), in the beginning I didn’t even want to hear about “sharing” this system with other people… However, Professor R. told me that he would only give me his method if I also offered his method to other people as well.”

Yeah, right. Yeah, just help us build your castle in the air. You can’t fool us you know… Scrolling further down, more fake emails, and I must admit, I’m tired of scrolling… I feel like my fingers have walked a few kilometers now.

What Price, What Bonus?

Ah, so the generous unknown person behind this scam is willing to offer four free bonuses to people who purchase this product ASAP. These free bonuses are supposedly worth $106.95 and they will expire 24 hours from now, I bet my a** it’ll say the same thing tomorrow! Here’s what it says,

“The FREE Bonuses will be removed in 24 hours. So if you don’t order now, and you come back here tomorrow, thinking that these valuable bonuses will still be available, you will miss out. I want to be sure that you have every advantage you could possibly need to guarantee your success — and so I don’t want you to miss out on this toolbox of FOUR SUPER ‘FREE’ BONUSES…..”

It will still be there, trust me. And what’s with all the full stops?!

So the software is priced at around $40 with a special 60% discount that’s only available for “today” (which trust me is pretty stretchable.) Then I came across a very interesting thing,

“Just last week I did my own investigation, and within a few minutes of searching, I was alarmed to find five different so called ‘lotto systems’ that have suddenly appeared on the Internet. I know there are probably more out there, but finding five was enough to get the scam bells ringing in my head. I thought to myself……”how can so many supposed legitimate ‘lotto systems’ possibly be available” When I read the details about these so called ‘systems’, I was horrified that there are people out there who are deliberately setting out to deceive people by trying to pass themselves off as being ‘lotto experts’, with a ‘system’, when in fact they have nothing of the sort… I’d love to tell you the names of these deceptive sites, but that might leave me open to some sort of legal action, so I won’t do it now. Maybe I’m naive, but I was just dumbfounded when I found out that people could do this. …. I don’t want to see YOU get ripped off by these people!”

Okay, I just laughed out loud! Why the heck are you trying to say?! We get scam bells from your site too, you know. I loved this line, “I was horrified that there are people out there who are deliberately setting out to deceive people by trying to pass themselves off as being ‘lotto experts’, with a ‘system’, when in fact they have nothing of the sort.” Well that’s exactly what you’re trying to do sir, and with all due respects, we’re not stupid!

My Thoughts on Formula 1 Lotto System

Please save your money! Go buy yourself a beer, don’t you love yourself?! Holy cow, this is unbelievable! Avoid this and play the lottery naturally instead!

We invite you to join the Formula 1 Lotto System forum discussion. Let’s talk!

QuickLotto.net and its Nigerian Lotteries

Looking at QuickLotto.net, I sat back and had myself a chuckle. QuickLotto runs two raffles (well, that’s what they call them) which are basically lotteries, plus some scratchies. Okay, that’s not what was funny. They are owned and operated in Nigeria. Over the last bunch of years, all of us have heard about the 419 (and other) scams. How does any company in Nigeria figure they are going to attract international players? Let’s go take a look!

QuickLotto’s Games

QuickLotto offers two types of games, scratchies and raffles. There are two scratchies – Cash Winfall Limited Edition and Car Lucky Loot. The top prize on the Cash Winfall is Naira (that’s Nigerian currency) 100,000,000 – the equivalent of about USD 600,000 give or take the exchange rate. The top prize for Car Lucky Loot is a Mercedes Benz 300E 2014 series.

Their raffles works like a regular lottery. Quick5 is played daily with the draw at 10:00 pm each night. Players choose 5 numbers per ticket line from 1 to 39. The estimated jackpot starts at Naira 10 million (around USD 60,000).

Their weekly draw is called MegaHammer and starts with a minimum jackpot of Naira 150 million (about USD 900,000). Players choose 5 numbers per ticket line from between 1 to 59 and a bonus ball from 1 to 39.

Who Can Play Quick Lotto?

Anyone can play at QuickLotto though there are a lot of indications that this site is targeted more at national players with all kinds of options on buying tickets using SMS, POS, ATMs and online. If you are going to play, makes sure you are clear on your numbers before you hit payment. They say there are no refunds – at all!

Winning at QuickLotto.net

Winners can get their winnings through three easy steps at the same time, there is no information on whether there are fees or transfer charges. One of the weird things is their site claims to aim to ensure a millionaire a month, but they only show the winning results for the last two months – with no winner! There is no breakdown on winning and/or tier level on payouts. QuickLotto does say that 50% of revenue goes to prizes, 20% to the government and 30% to the company and affiliates.

Who Are They?

QuickLotto is owned by Fortune Games Limited, a Nigerian company. It appears that they are tied up with ATMs and POS issuing of tickets though we’re not sure which banks. Fortune Games Limited has been in business (according to their site) since 2004. As we were digging further, our team found the official Nigerian Lottery Regulatory Commission, where supposedly all approved promotional lotteries are listed. QuickLotto and Fortune Games Limited were not there!

QuickLotto and Customer Service

Customer service is in the form of telephone numbers, an email and snail mail address. I can imagine they get a lot of questions given the lack of information on their site. Our team couldn’t find any complaints and boy did we dig.

The Bottom Line at QuickLotto.net

I know it’s not really a fair comment, but I got nervous just being on their site. The stigmatism of it being Nigerian was enough to make my visit short and sweet. The lack of information didn’t help. The Chairman of Fortune Games Limited put a lovely blah blah blah letter thanking the President of Nigeria for this opportunity to promote entrepreneurial opportunities and help the youth of the nation. The time would have been better spent providing better details on how their lotteries – whoops raffles – work.

Good Split on Revenue to Prizes

Cons:

No Prize Tiers Identified
Lack of Information
It’s Nigerian

Hey folks! Our team gives QuickLotto.net thumbs down. We would need a heap of a lot more information and I’m sorry, but there is no way I would provide anyone in Nigeria with my personal and credit card details! That is my bottom line!

Please join the QuickLotto Live Discussion and leave your comment there.

Winning the Big One at elGordo.com

Have you got your tickets for El Gordo yet? That’s the big Christmas lottery in Spain, one of the most popular annual draws that occur internationally. If not, you might want to take a look at the elGordo.com online lottery provider site. This is an online lottery service provider though only for Spanish lotteries. If you’re looking for someone that offers other international games like US Powerball or Canada’s Lotto Max, you won’t get them here.

Games at elGordo.com

This is a Spanish online lottery service provider for Spanish lotteries. ElGordo.com includes the National Lottery (Thursday, Saturday and the December special), Sunday Lottery, Spanish 6/49, El Nino (January), Daily 6/49, Football Quiniela and of course, el Gordo lottery (December). There is one regional lottery – EuroMillions. Players simply register and then load their account. But – yes the big but – there is no information on which methods of payment they accept without actually creating an account.

elGordo and Winning

Anyone over the age of 18 can play at elGordo.com from any country. Prizes under €3,000 are transferred directly to the player’s account. Any winnings over €3,000 are transferred directly from the banking company related to the lottery and/or the player can go directly there to cash their prize. Ticket prices include their service charge, but not surcharges and commissions. Funny, we couldn’t find anywhere on their site what their commission percentage is, whether it is a flat amount or when they get it.

The Tax Man & El Gordo

It’s not just elGordo.com that you have to worry about taking some of your money. The tax man takes 20% of any prize over €2,500. There is no mention of this on the elGordo.com’s site. Though most people in Spain probably are aware of this, the rest of the people in the 140 countries that they claim play from might not be.

Who is elGordo.com?

This is private company managed by TWL SPAIN registered in Spain. ElGordo.com say they have been in business since 1860 and available online since 1996. It isn’t actually linked or part of the public entity el Gordo or official state lotteries. TWL stands for ‘The World Lottery’ (that’s not a spelling mistake) versus some of the other acronyms that TWL also stands for. It provided a lot of amusement for our team scrolling by some of the different combinations. The Team Warfare League was a personal favorite.

Talking to elGordo.com

Getting in touch with elGordo.com is fairly simple. They provide a Spanish phone number, snail mail address, online form and email address. That is one of the nice things about this online lottery service provider – for once, they aren’t registered in one country and operating in another. They are totally Spanish owned, operated with only Spanish lotteries offered.

The Bottom Line at elGordo

El Gordo is one of the most popular lotteries internationally. It draws an incredible amount of attention. But – yes the big but – when playing lotteries through an online service provider, most people want the flexibility of playing a variety of games and it’s hard to get past the fact that elGordo.com only offers Spanish lotteries.

Pros:

Straightforward Site
Spanish Owned & Operated
Anyone Can Play

Cons:

How Much are Their Commissions
Tax Applicable
Only Spanish Lotteries

Our team couldn’t agree on thumbs up or thumbs down. These folks look for real and if you are into Spanish lotteries, then this could be a place to play. I would have an issue having to fly all the way to Spain to pick up a €3,000 prize, especially as I know 20% comes off the top!

Have something to say? Join the elGordo Live Discussion and let the world know!