A 79-year-old Spanish woman has been unable to claim her £30,000 lottery winnings because her late husband secretly placed her on a gambling exclusion list over a decade ago.
Carmen, from the Murcia region, won €35,000 (£30,000) on the ONCE daily draw lottery in August 2025. When she went to collect, she discovered her name was on Spain's General Register of Gambling Access Bans, a voluntary system introduced in 2011 that allows individuals to self-exclude from gambling activities such as online betting, casinos, bingo halls, and lotteries.
Carmen was shocked, as she had no memory of ever registering. The truth emerged when she learned that her husband, before his death, had forged her signature and sent a burofax to the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling from a local post office in January 2012. The letter was worded as if Carmen had a serious gambling problem, allowing her husband to apply on her behalf.
Husband's Motive Revealed
Carmen's daughter believes her father's actions were driven by a dislike of her mother's bingo habit. She said: "My father was a disaster as a husband. He had a sexist mindset and didn’t like my mum going to bingo at the community centre with her friends, because he was left alone at home. They had a heated argument over that."
ONCE, the lottery operator, expressed sympathy but stated it cannot pay the prize under Spanish law. A spokesperson said: "We make our living from giving out prizes. In 2025, ONCE distributed 1,660 million euros in prizes, more than 81 million last weekend alone. We’d be delighted to pay these 35,000 euros as well, but the law prevents us from doing so. If the entry in the register is officially or judicially annulled, she’ll receive her prize straight away."
Legal Battle Underway
Carmen has taken the case to court, seeking to have her name removed from the register. The case is currently before the High Court of Justice of Madrid. Her solicitor is reportedly trying to secure an automatic annulment of her entry so she can finally claim her winnings.
