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Wait for ruling on National Lottery '£10 or £1m' claim

Lottery ballsImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

A judge heard that between August 25 and August 26 in 2015 there had been a "technical issue" during some online National Lottery games

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A judge is set to rule on whether a woman is entitled to win a National Lottery prize of £10 or £1m after a High Court fight.

Joan Parker-Grennan, from Boston, Lincolnshire, has sued Camelot, claiming the Lotto operator is "bound" to pay her a £1m prize.

It follows a “technical issue” during an online Instant Win game Mrs Parker-Grennan played in 2015.

Camelot disputes her claim and says it is only liable to pay £10.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Jay finished overseeing the latest stage of the dispute at a hearing in London.

He described the case as "interesting" and said he aimed to deliver a ruling in the near future.

'Congratulations'

Lawyers told the judge that Mrs Parker-Grennan had purchased a £5 Instant Win game ticket on 25 August 2015.

They said the premise of the game was that if a number in the "your numbers" section of the screen matched one in the winning numbers section, the two matching numbers would turn white.

Camelot says that "at the point" Mrs Parker-Grennan bought her ticket, its computer system predetermined her prize to be £10.

But the judge was told that between August 25-26 there had been a "technical issue" which could result in "different graphical animations" being displayed on some players' screens.

Mrs Parker-Grennan received a message saying: "Congratulations, you have won £10."

But the judge heard that two other matching numbers - with a designated prize of £1m - also appeared as a result of the technical issue.

Barrister Philip Hinks, who led Camelot's legal team, argued that the operator was only liable to pay the "outcome of the ticket as predetermined" by the computer system.

But James Couser, representing Mrs Parker-Grennan, said there was "no real prospect of the claim being successfully defended".