Brits play the lottery to feel good, not to win millions, study suggests

PEOPLE play the lottery to feel good, not to become millionaires, research suggests.

Those buying a ticket were found to be happier in the hours that followed.

1

Four out of ten did not even bother to check the results.

The findings are reflected in real life — with more than £100million in lottery wins unclaimed in the UK in the past year alone, the researchers say.

And the results prove players are seeking “not only money, but improved mood”, they add.

Players were also found to be more likely to buy a ticket when they were feeling down.

Read More on Health

OH BABY

I gave birth on my sofa with 2 paracetamol for pain because my hospital was full

NEW THREAT

The 5 signs of Ebola you need to know as UK doctors told to be on high alert

The team, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, carried out a series of tests to see what motivated people to try their luck.

In one, people were given a scratch card worth £5, told they could win up to £2million and to return in five days to check.

A second group was told to come back to claim £5 in cash.

All the cash group turned up to claim their money but 42 per cent with tickets did not.

Most read in Health

MAJOR STEP

Single-dose nasal spray 'washes the brain' of toxic Alzheimer's proteins

BUZZ ALERT

'Healthy' mum dies of 'paralysing virus' in Spain after bitten by a mosquito

'FOBBED OFF'

My boy died in my arms - for years doctors just told me to give him Calpol

SUGAR PLUME HAIRY

Baldness 'could be cured by a sugar that naturally occurs in the body'

Another experiment found happiness improved by 20 per cent after getting a ticket.

Writing in the journal Cognition and Emotion, researcher Dr Shu Li said: “What lottery players want is not the tangible money that can make their dreams come true but rather a good mood accompanied by daydreaming.

“If what people want is a good mood and a daydream, the fact that many lottery winnings go unclaimed begins to become understandable.”