Dispute over $63 million Australian Powerball Win Over

February of this year saw an Australian syndicate win a $63 million Australian Powerball jackpot. A legal battle over that win will not now make it to the courts.

It was a group of 250 players that shared the massive jackpot. For many of the winners, the windfall came at just the right time. They included one couple whose travel agents business had been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian Powerball syndicate had been run by City News Kalgoorlie which is owned by Tania and Kevin Parkes. Their joy at the win was marred by a claim by Mark Ing who claimed he was due a share of the winnings.

He claimed that he paid $100 for his ticket and it was purchased over the phone. On February 28, he presented his ‘winning’ ticket to Lotterywest but he had a shock 11 days later. The lottery company paid out the Australian Powerball winnings but not to Mr Ing. 

Off to the Supreme Court

Even though there was a dispute over his claim, Lotterywest said they would make a payment to him. This led to the couple going to the Western Australian Supreme Court  lodging a writ of summons over the claim.

The Parkes say that Mr Ing did indeed buy a ticket from them. However it was for another syndicate who were not the jackpot winners. No tickets had been sold for the syndicate that did win the jackpot. They asked the alleged winner to send evidence of his win to Lotterywest but he has not done so.

The Supreme Court blocked the payment of any winnings to Mr Ing. There is now no future date scheduled for the case, so it appears the dispute is over.

Luxury home

Since the Australian Powerball win, the Parkes have sold their newsagency business. They now live in Perth and have bought a luxury $3.2 million property. It has five bedrooms, a pool, four bathrooms, a spa and a paddock in the shape of a football oval.

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