You are more likely to get hit by lightning than to win the lottery. But those odds don’t seem to apply to one Maltese resident, who, as reported by The Times of Malta this morning, has won the monthly VAT lottery five times in eight months.

Each month, the Ministry of Finance holds a lottery which uses receipts instead of tickets. This format was introduced a while back by the government as a measure to ensure people are paying VAT by encouraging them to ask for receipts. Since its conception, the lottery has been scrutinised on several occasions, including a situation in 2012 when an individual accumulated €2,247 in winnings over several months. 

Fast forward to present day, and we’re faced with a similar situation where an individual has won the lottery on several occasions (August 2018, November 2018, January 2019, February 2019 and May 2019) racking up a healthy sum of €1,973!

On the other hand, multiple wins in the VAT lottery is not uncommon, especially since you can increase your odds by submitting more receipts. But winning it five times has turned a few heads and some people can’t help but feel like something fishy might be going on…

When asked whether an investigation would take place, the Ministry of Finance saw no need citing that “Years back, a similar situation arose and an investigation was carried out which resulted in ruling out any corrupt practices”. In fact, in that particular case, it had reportedly turned out to be someone collecting a huge amount of receipts donated by other people and giving the winnings to charity. 

So what do you think; is this shady business, or just an extraordinary stroke of luck?

Tag your unluckiest friend!

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