# I pit the UK National Lottery. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 11, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418 "2004-08-11T20:50:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/1 "2004-08-11T20:50:29Z")
[BBC story.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3556304.stm) So this rapist is approaching the end of his “life sentence” and they start letting him out at weekends, probably to get him acclimatised to life on the outside. He buys a lottery ticket and wins a cool £7,000,000! His fortune will grow by around £6,000 a week while he serves out the remainer of his sentence. Prisoners in the UK are not allowed to do the football pools or buy premium bonds, so why the hell are they allowed to buy lottery tickets? This is fucked up. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/2 "2004-08-11T21:06:02Z")
How would Camelot know who is buying their tickets? From your cite: Quote: " Under Home Office guidelines, prisoners on temporary release from jail are allowed to play the lottery and can claim a winning prize." Something about this whole business stinks, but I don’t see how you can blame Camelot. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/3 "2004-08-11T21:09:13Z")
Yeah, you should pit the UK laws that allow prisoners to do this, not the Lottery system. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/4 "2004-08-11T21:11:13Z")
If it’s any consolation big wins can often ruin people’s lives. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/5 "2004-08-11T21:13:00Z")
Yeah, you’re right. Sorry Camelot. I change the pitting to “Home Office Guidelines”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/6 "2004-08-11T21:33:52Z")
Three things: (1) A prisoner barred from buying lottery tickets could still gamble through a proxy. (2) This financial windfall means the prisoner in question is now a fat target to be sued by his victims. (3) Good things sometimes happen to bad people. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/7 "2004-08-11T21:38:01Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > (2) This financial windfall means the prisoner in question is now a fat target to be sued by his victims. Here’s hoping. ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/8 "2004-08-11T21:42:22Z")
Maybe there will be a positive. Less people wasting their money on the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/9 "2004-08-11T21:46:39Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > Three things: > > (1) A prisoner barred from buying lottery tickets could still gamble through a proxy. > > (2) This financial windfall means the prisoner in question is now a fat target to be sued by his victims. > > (3) Good things sometimes happen to bad people. Get over it. (1) True, but given the the nature of criminals and their associates, I would expect the “proxy” to be sunning himself on a Brazilian beach long before the jail bird got out. (2) True. Perhaps the Government could look at grabbing back the money that it has cost them to keep him in prison all this time. (3) Get over it? You can have my sense of injustice when you prise it out my rightous breast! ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/10 "2004-08-11T22:00:31Z")
Newsflash to **legion** , outraged Tabloid papers in particular, and all others disgusted. When you have a lottery that is awarded at random, without regard to effort or merit, then undeserving bastards have just as much a chance of pocketing the cash as anyone else. It isn’t the first time it has happened, and it won’t be the last. If you have a problem about this, then you have a problem with the lotteries you should have mentioned years ago. You know, at the point where others were calling them morally repugnant and were accused of being spoil-sports. This outrage is pretty sickening when the same tabloids absolutely _love_ the lottery and the “hard-working granny cleaning lady wins millions” stories. You can’t have it both ways with a lottery. That’s what _makes_ it a lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/11 "2004-08-11T22:06:51Z")
You are right about the nature of a lottery being indiscriminate, for the good and the bad. I’d imagine quite a few bad people have won the UK lottery. I also imagine that winning the lottery has turned quite a few other good people into bad people. But isn’t it reasonable to desire that one of the punishments for breaking the law should be exemption from national gambling winnings? So that maybe bad people will win, but certain hard criminals can’t. You _can’t_ have it both ways. But you _can_ compromise. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/12 "2004-08-11T22:35:47Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > This outrage is pretty sickening when the same tabloids absolutely _love_ the lottery and the “hard-working granny cleaning lady wins millions” stories. You can’t have it both ways with a lottery. That’s what _makes_ it a lottery. Sickening? WTF is sickening about pissing and moaning when a banged up rapist wins the lottery and being pleased when a hard working granny does the same? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/13 "2004-08-12T01:26:26Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > But isn’t it reasonable to desire that one of the punishments for breaking the law should be exemption from national gambling winnings? But if somebody knows they won’t be able to keep the winnings, they won’t bother to buy a ticket. So that trick will only work once - and then the government will never collect another lottery dime from a criminal. Remember that on average, people who play the lottery _lose_ money on it. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/14 "2004-08-12T09:43:04Z")
[New Legislation proposed to stop convicts and their families benefiting from winnings](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1054577.html?menu=) Knee jerk reaction anyone? Whilst I could support legislation to stop convicts benefitting from a lottery win whilst they are behind bars, I see no reason why this should be extended to their families. For fuck’s sake, do we know punish innocent parties because a member fo their family is a criminal. Call me cynical but I suspect that this move is entirely designed to increase the goverments popularity and nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/15 "2004-08-12T10:23:34Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > But if somebody knows they won’t be able to keep the winnings, they won’t bother to buy a ticket. “But I didn’t buy this winning ticket. The missus did. Don’t believe me? Prove otherwise. What, you’re banning my wife, an innocent woman, from entering the lottory too? See you in Human Rights court.” “Or maybe this innocent guy here bought it. The one I have a ‘business’ arrangement with and the address of his mother just to make sure there’s no confusion over the terms.” The outrage is sickening because it was entirely predictable. It’s like playing Russian roulette and crying “Not Fair! Why are we allowing this in the rules?!” when you get shot in the head. You don’t get to be outraged when the inevitable happens. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/16 "2004-08-12T10:26:35Z")
I can’t believe some of the responses here. Looks like most of you people have no respect for ex-convicts. This man is going to be released soon. He did his time an he will be free. Should the society continue to punish him for the rest of his life? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/17 "2004-08-12T11:17:58Z")
Sorry but I think this complaint is bullshit. He paid his money and he took his chances like everyone else. Ok the guy is fucking scum but so what? He is serving his sentence for his crimes. Prison is the punishment for criminals. He didn’t do anything wrong with regard to the lottery. Lots of fuckers have good luck all the time. Hopefully he’ll get sued and lose a lot of it but complaining because you don’t like the person that won is silly IMO. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/18 "2004-08-12T11:28:44Z")
Had he, on his first day of freedom, scooped this prize I assume nobody would bat an eyelid. Day Release is a common “lead in” to normal life for convicts who have served a long sentence to reduce some of the shock of suddenly finding oneself immersed in free society. It has very specific rules concerning what the convict may or may not do. He may gamble in certain specific ways, one of them being the Lottery. Change those rules in future if you wish, but thatt money is legally his. If he gives any of it to a cause other than his own, he would deserve praise for it. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/19 "2004-08-12T11:43:04Z")
I was about to pit the reactionary press and govt about this myself. Saintly old ladies get hit by lightning, horrific rapists win the lottery. It ain’t fair but there’s nothing to be done about it. From [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/08/12/rapist.lottery.ap/index.html.) : > [@](#): > > “There’s no justice in a convicted rapist winning the lottery while his victims still suffer from what he did to them,” Blunkett wrote in The Sun newspaper. There’s no justics about anyone winning the lottery, because the lottery isn’t about justice! It’s a scheme by the government to take a few bucks from the stupidly optimistic and bad at math. It’s not a cash reward for good citizenship. The UK criminal justice system is about justice, and it looks like it worked just fine in this case. The dude served his time, and now, through no illegal or immoral action on his part, is richer than I’ll ever be. Outraged people of teh world, new media, government, get the fuck over it. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418/20 "2004-08-12T12:13:06Z")
The victim should sue for emotional damages. (Does British law allow for this?) I hate rapists almost as much as people that harm my family. (yes rape is in there, too.) When any harm is committed against my family, the guns are cocked. I have a lot of guns. Maybe the winner will post bond? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-uk-national-lottery/259418.md?page=2)