Short review of thelotter.com

Before we discuss thelotter.com below, we would like to make the point that not all online lottery or lotto services are scams or even questionable. If you would like to play lottos online, we recommend playing at Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes recently has added online lottos to their list of services. Rather than sign up and play at a dubious online site, we recommend playing at a site that can be trusted such as Ladbrokes.

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Someone posted this question:

Please checkout the site below,that was recently E-Mailed to me & tell me if it is a Scam?…. http://XXXXXX.com
——–

The link you provided (concealed) appears to be just an affiliate’s website that leads to thelotter.com. btw, we didn’t see that email, so we assumed everything is normal (i.e. not a 419 lottery scam or phishing email).

So the question is whether thelotter.com is a scam. We cannot tell you if it is a scam or not, unless there is evidence. You may read our opinion about online lotteries here. All we can say is that everything is pure business until someone really wins big-time and issues a press release. As for me, I would prefer to hold the physical tickets in my hand.

We had previously taken a look at the website prior to receiving the above request. There were others who were asking about the same questions, including myself. The questions we were asking are not whether “it is a scam”, but the handling of the physical tickets and the reliability of the agent to deliver the winnings. We went back there again and it took us some time to find this deep in the FAQ:

—FAQ Extracts—
What guarantee do I have that you will pay me when I win?
A Regarding assurances, on top of all measures presented through the site we do believe and hope that our unquestioned reputation of many years of first class service provided to our huge and loyal clientele, first over the phone and currently over the web, speaks for itself.

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thelotter.com should provide more transparency to such matters. It isn’t about the number of lottery, or the prize money. Its about gaining the trust of customers to let thelotter.com handle the physical tickets, and providing assurance that the winnings will be paid out honestly. These should be highlighted somewhere big on the website, with links to evidence or endorsement by the authorities. What we mean is that any information that would help to gain the trust of potential customers should be placed somewhere easier to find, perhaps a direct link on the top menu.

This is especially important for “online lottery”, which does not seem “legal” (will skip this factor). We did not like the idea of digging deep into the FAQ to find the answers, e.g. how the tickets are managed. Allay the fears and address the key concerns upfront – this is what we would prefer. Nevertheless, we know some punters don’t really care and just take the plunge. 

While reading through the FAQ, we also found this answer about the jackpot assurance:

—FAQ Extracts—
Why does theLotter.com use Jackpot insurance?

A. Being the world leader in global lottery services, and in order to give our customers the best possible winning protection, we implemented a unique Jackpot insurance to insure payment of jackpot prizes in cases that the original lottery ticket was lost or not purchased for any reason. With this insurance in place, supplied by broker of Lloyd’s of London-Tyser Special Risks Management, our customers can be sure that when they’ll finally meet their fortune, they will not have to rely on luck for getting their money.
——

Due to some technical errors, we are unable to include the link to the second question. It is actually on the same page as the first FAQ extract.

We did a check some time back regarding this and received confirmation from Lloyd’s that there is a first class insurance in place. We do not have further details other than this written confirmation.
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  From Lloyd’s:

> I refer to your email (copy attached) and can confirm that I have made
> enquiries of both the Lloyd’s Broker Tyser & Co Ltd and certain
> underwriters at Lloyd’s in connection with your enquiry into
> thelotter.com and as a result would now respond as follows:-
>
> After consultation with the Lloyd’s broker, Tyser & Co Limited, we can
> confirm that insurance has been placed for thelotter.com to protect
> their legal liability to pay winners of jackpot prizes in their lottery.
> We can further confirm that the security is first class. However,
> actual details regarding the extent of coverage and the identity of the
> insurers is a private matter between thelotter.com and its insurers /
> insurance brokers.
>
> I trust that this response provides you with the clarification you were
> seeking.
>
> RegardsWe are not going to post the exact sender’s information in this blog. Also note that we are NOT posting this mail to convince or invite you play the lottery. We are not affiliated to thelotter.com in anyway, and I still prefer to buy physical lottery ticket.

Again, we think that thelotter.com should place these answers on prominent pages:

1) How are the tickets managed? (This is the most important because the authority pays only to the ticket holder.)
2) How do they assure customers that they will get their winnings?

The need to dig deep to find these answers that are hidden among the lesser issues gave the impression that there is a lack of confidence.

A first class insurance probably isn’t cheap, so why should this fact be hidden deep inside the website. If I am the owner, I would put a big sign right on the front page to say that the winnings are insured (with reference to established agency). But why wasn’t this done?

We have our thoughts about a “third question”, but we are not prepared to share them further due to the lack of “authorised” information (e.g. the legal question). But we decided to write only our opinions based on the facts.

We hope that you are satisfied that we have shared what we know about this issue.