Who wants to be a millionaire? Not 5.5 million of us

5.5 million Brits say they wouldn't want to win a multi-million pound lottery jackpot. When asked what put them off, the vast majority were worried about the effect of that kind of money on them - and on those they love. Half of all the people in the study said that to be on the safe side, they'd rather win smaller amounts more regularly.

The survey, by FreePostcodeLottery.com, found that 40% of people think a huge lottery win would do them more harm than good.

Relationships

When it comes to our nearest and dearest, one in five said it would make them worry about their other half, and one in ten said they thought winning as much as £10 million would cause a break up.

Our wider family are also a source of concern, as 39% if people would expect them to be happy for us initially - and then to start making demands. One in ten say it would cause family disputes.

And it's not just family: 12% of people think their friends would try to cash in, while 15% are worried that old acquaintances would come out of the woodwork in a bid to benefit, and a third are concerned that they would get begging letters.

Chris Holbrook, founder of freepostcodelottery.com said: "While we'd all welcome more luck in our lives, this seems to suggest Brits are weary of winning life-changing sums of money. An unexpected change in financial circumstances may not be the answer to our prayers if unresolved issues or uncertainty in personal lives affect how we are likely to cope."

Does this mean a win would be a bad idea?

The good news is that just because we are worried about these sorts of reactions from friends and family, it doesn't mean we would necessarily face them.

The stories of lottery winners falling out with their families tend to make headlines, but for every one of them, there are thousands of people who have won more than £1 million without suffering any of these consequences.

Richard Tunney, Associate Professor of Psychology at Nottingham University, conducted research with major winners of the UK National Lottery, and found that most were happier after winning the money. The research covered those who had gone public with the win, and those who had stayed anonymous; those who had shared the wealth with friends and family, and those who had reaped the rewards themselves. It goes to show that we might not need to worry so much about a jackpot win.

Of course, what's far more likely with the National Lottery is that you don't win big - and you simply spend far more money on tickets than you ever get back in prizes.

If you are keen to take a gamble, and don't want to miss out financially, then instead of buying tickets, it's well worth signing up to the freepostcodelottery.com. You don't buy a ticket, because all the prizes are funded from advertising on the website. The site will simply choose a postcode to win £250 every day (plus a number of other smaller prizes), and all you have to do is check the site each day and claim your prize.

It's not the kind of life-changing multi-million pound prize that most people associate with the lottery (although each day the prize isn't claimed, it rolls forward and builds up, so prizes of over £1,000 have been won in the past), but it's the kind of money that will make a bit of a difference, without risking a family row.