A Spanish woman who won £30,000 on the Spanish lottery was shocked to find she could not collect her winnings because of something her husband did in 201208:49, 06 Aug 2026A woman who won £30,000 on the Spanish lottery was surprised to find out that she was unable to collect it. Carmen, a 79-year-old woman from Spain, won €35,000 (£30,000) on the ONCE daily draw lottery in August 2025.‌Delighted with the win, she went to collect her winnings only to find she was unable to due to a system in Spain that had been introduced in 2011.‌This system, the General Register of Gambling Access Bans, allows people to ban themselves from taking part in gambling.‌A voluntary service set up in the early 2010s, it allows people who suffer from a gambling addiction to ban themselves from activities such as online gambling, casinos, bingo halls and lotteries.When Carmen went to claim her winnings, she found she was on the list of people who had banned themselves. This surprised her as she didn't recall ever registering with them.‌That was until the secret emerged: her late husband had registered her on the service himself before his death, secretly forging his wife's signature and sending a burofax to the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling from a local post office in January 2012.The letter her late husband sent had been worded as if Carmen had a serious gambling-related issue, meaning her husband was able to apply on her behalf.This perplexed Carmen, who found she had unknowingly been on the register for 13 years and is now seeking to have her name removed.‌Hearing about her situation, ONCE, which runs the lottery, said that while it would like to give Carmen her winnings, it can't do so under Spanish law, reports AS.In a statement about the matter, a spokesperson said: “We make our living from giving out prizes. In 2025, ONCE distributed 1,660 million euros in prizes, more than 81 million last weekend alone.“We’d be delighted to pay these 35,000 euros as well, but the law prevents us from doing so. If the entry in the register is officially or judicially annulled, she’ll receive her prize straight away."‌Carmen’s daughter has a theory as to why Carmen was put on the register, believing her husband didn't like how often she went to bingo.She said: "My father was a disaster as a husband. He had a sexist mindset and didn’t like my mum going to bingo at the community centre with her friends, because he was left alone at home. They had a heated argument over that."Article continues belowCarmen has now gone to court to fight for the ban to be overturned, with the case currently before the High Court of Justice of Madrid.Carmen’s solicitor is reportedly trying to secure an automatic annulment of her entry on the register so that she may finally claim her prize.