TheLotteryCentre Exposed — Beware of the In-House Game!
TheLotteryCentre Review
Would an online lottery provider offering an in-house game for €10,000 be enough to get you to give them your email address? The team took a look at TheLotteryCentre.com today and it doesn’t seem to matter what lottery you purchase on their site, you’re in on that draw. I can’t even imagine the odds of winning and for me; I’m into playing lotteries for that mega jackpot. If this site seems familiar, the folks who own it also have lottoexpress.com.
Games at TheLotteryCentre.com
The Lottery Centre offers players 18 international lotteries ranging from three of the big down under (that’s Australia) draws to the usual Euro Millions and US Powerball. Players can choose 1 ticket for 1 game or more – up to 10 games. There are no discounts for playing more. All entries include an automatic bonus into an in-house game for €10,000.
Is 24Lottos a scam in Canada?
The Lottery Centre’s Syndicates
Some of the lotteries offered here have syndicates with various terms, though two things seem consistent. Firstly, players buy in for 4 weeks. Secondly, there is no information on how many shares are actually in the syndicates. Some of the syndicates have bonus tickets for other draws, but only if the jackpot prize is won. All of the syndicates offer that automatic entry into the in-house game for €10,000.
What’s with the In-House Game
It all starts when you go to TheLotteryCentre.com’s site. A window pops up right from the start, asking you to input your name and email address – and agree to receive “email communications” from The Lottery Centre. The in-house game takes place on the 31st of December and could be travel or merchandise though they do so say you can take it in cash. There is an inference that there might be more than one prize, but no additional information.
Where’s My Money?
According to TheLotteryCentre.com, they don’t take any commission on winnings, but they can take any “reasonable costs”. I’m also still trying to get my head around the use of the term “any recovery may take a significant period of time”. The team figured it means you might be waiting and waiting for your winnings.
Customer Service at TheLotteryCentre
Their call center is in Vancouver, Canada, their processing center is in the Netherlands and their corporate office is in the Isle of Man. There is a snail mail address for the Isle of Man and several email addresses. There is a heap of toll-free and other telephone numbers for all kinds of countries. But if you’re not using a toll-free number, all calls are for Vancouver. TheLotteryCentre.com is owned by International Multi-Media Entertainments Limited.
Good Causes at TheLotteryCentre.com
Under the menu “Good Causes”, the Lottery Centre says their “plans have been announced for further development” of their sponsored Akili School Project in Nairobi Kenya. This is back in 2013 with no further information. Then they list some of the projects that the actual lotteries support under the guise of what your money is doing. I’m not sure why they wasted the time and space on this.
Why You Should Register with TheLottery Centre
Pros:
No Commission
18 International Lotteries
Free In-House Draw
Why You Shouldn’t Register with TheLottery Centre
Cons:
Agreeing to Receive Emails
What are Reasonable Costs of Winnings?
When Will I Get My Winnings?
Is TheLotteryCentre Legit?
At face value, no alarm bells ring to stop you from playing here, but there was something familiar with the list of telephone numbers. It took a while and the telephone numbers are not the same, but the list itself of where they have toll-free and other numbers is a duplicate for europeanlotteryguild.com – with the only number for international dialing in Vancouver.
We’re giving this one a thumbs down simply because of the threat of having to agree to receive email communications. That and the fact we might be waiting on end for our mega jackpot!
EARLDINE O. GORDON
These people are scammers, do not send your money to them. They will tell you to send funds so they can pool together with another person to play and end up scamming you. I sent funds to the Isle of Man to their so called account and was told my funds were being pooled with other people for big draws. I was promised a lot of things that didn’t come through. They are a bunch of thieves with a CAPITAL T. Please, please don’t send your money, they took a lot of money from me.
Hi,
If you have sent money to a bank on the Isle of Man, send an email or letter to the bank. Inform them that you sent money to a certain bank account at their bank which has been used for gambling purposes and you feel that the company is acting dishonestly with promises in order to scam people out of money. Also cc the Isle of Man FSA and Isle of Man Gambling commission. This may get your money back or at worst stop them doing this to other people.
L Frank
Not only do they take money for their supposed lottery ‘games’ they also mine a great deal of information from the elderly clients they market to.
My 84 yr old father divulged so much information about so many other people in his family and residents block that I had to make sure he would not leak vital info to the supposed agent, his ‘friend Eddie’ again.
If they can’t get money they get personal data which is what the UK Gambling commission alerted to in licencing hearing.
AVOID
Gordon Singleton
My 86 year old uncle had been taken got over £20,000 in 2 years. The bank fraud dept. don’t want to know as he has authorised the payments.
Unfortunately, they are not regulated and use under handed pressured telesales aimed at older people to part with the cash. They have lost the licence in the UK due to the call-centre part of the business. I don’t think you will get any money back, but change his telephone number and request new bank details. They will still mail him by post trying to get him to buy tickets as once they have your details they don’t stop.
Barry Ormsby
Absolute scammers, liars, and thieves will tell you that you need to beg, borrow or steal the money needed to play, you are in for a big win.
So called in house games, what a joke. You get no confirmation of your purchase, they will not answer your calls or emails.
Watch out for Shawn and Alex.
Yorkie SE
After an extensive investigation by the UK Gambling Commission, they faced having licence to operate in the UK withdrawn and decided to avoid a hearing and surrender the operating licence. The Gambling Commission cited many serious concerns about the operating organisation International Multimedia Entertainments Ltd and the findings of the investigation are stated here:
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/public-statement/detail/international-multi-media-entertainments-limited-imme
Hi,
My name is Rob Davies, I’m a journalist for the Guardian, looking into these companies. I’d be grateful if you could contact me on rob.davies@theguardian.com or drop me a DM on Twitter, where my username is @byrobdavies.