Do winners spend all their money within 12 months? Are prizes taxed? Do random people ask for a share of the windfall? There are tonnes of myths about what it’s really like to win the lottery.  

If you’ve ever dreamt of scoring a major prize, you might even have a few expectations of your own.

But what about the people who’ve already received a dream-come-true win?  

Who better to separate myths from reality than the everyday Aussies who’ve already received that life-changing winning phone call.   

Introducing Lottery Mythbusting! A brand-new series that delves into the experiences of real winners to debunk common misconceptions about life after winning the lottery.   

Colmar Brunton, a third-party social research agency, sat down with 40 Aussie winners for in-depth interviews to discuss what winning the lottery is really like. A mix of winners were recruited by age, prize amount, length of time since win and location.  

Every winner is unique and they each have their own stories about how their win changed their life.   

But whether they were millionaires or multi-millionaires, young or old, city slickers or country dwellers — certain trends emerged to paint a picture of the winning experience.   

The first episode in the series starts with one of the first decisions new winners make when they find out they’ve had a win. Who do they tell? And will people expect a piece of the winning pie?   

According to one Victorian winner who scored her prize back in 2016, she and her husband received nothing but support from their community.   

“We live in a country town and everyone in town knew. They were brilliant...They all made an effort to come in and say congratulations. No one asked for money,” she said. 

Ready to find out more? Uncover the top six lottery myths now including:   

  1. Do people come out of the woodwork looking to get a ‘piece of the pie’? 
 
  2. Do people change when they win the lottery? 
 
  3. How many people benefit from the lottery?
  4. Do people who receive a sudden windfall of cash lose it within a few years? 
 
  5. Do winners spend all their money on material things? 
 
  6. Do winners need to pay tax on their winnings and other prize misconceptions?