UK Retailer Loses Licence After Inconsistent Accounts of Mispaid Lottery Ticket

A convenience store in Tipton, West Midlands, has had its licence revoked by Sandwell Council after its owner gave contradictory explanations about a National Lottery ticket that was paid out at a fraction of its true value. The incident involved a customer who received only £30 from Best One Store in Great Bridge, only to discover later that the ticket was worth £920.

West Midlands Police investigated the complaint that a staff member had failed to hand over the correct prize. The shop's licence holder and designated supervisor, Vincent Shaanmugarajah Thamilnesan, told the licensing hearing that he had admitted the theft of the ticket to police and agreed to sign a community resolution—an informal out-of-court settlement. Despite that admission, licensing committee chair Matt Lloyd noted that Thamilnesan gave “several different versions” of events, leaving the panel with no confidence in his ability to operate the premises.

During the police investigation, Thamilnesan initially claimed he was not the shop’s owner and could not access CCTV footage. A week later he changed his story. The CCTV, which should have been retained for at least a month, had been overwritten just days after the incident, hampering the investigation. Sandwell Council’s licensing enforcement officer described “serious concerns” about the store and urged councillors to consider revocation.

Defence and Machine Prompts

At the hearing, barrister Duncan Craig argued that there was “no evidence of dishonesty” and that neither the shop nor the owner had gained anything. “There has been no loss sustained, and nothing gained,” he said. However, the committee heard that the lottery terminal would have displayed prompts instructing the shopkeeper to return the ticket to the customer for an online claim when the prize exceeded a certain threshold. Thamilnesan said he “hadn’t noticed them.”

Allwyn’s Summer Campaign

Separately, Allwyn, the operator of the UK National Lottery, recently launched a summer marketing campaign to promote its revamped Lotto product. Developed by creative agency VCCP and supported by Studio 59 and Hearts & Science, the campaign uses the slogan ‘One ticket, Two chances to win’ and highlights the new two-round format. Allwyn says the change improves a player’s odds of winning a prize from 1-in-9.3 to 1-in-4.9 and is expected to more than double the number of Lotto millionaires each year, from around 140 to 345.