Largest unclaimed prize in Canadian lottery history
By Kate Northrop
The winning ticket for a $70 million (US$52.85 million) Lotto Max jackpot has officially expired, making it the largest unclaimed prize in Canadian lottery history.
Time is up to validate the winning ticket for the highest-possible jackpot for Lotto Max, Canada's multi-province draw game.
On Thursday, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced that the deadline to claim the $70 million Lotto Max prize drawn on Tues., June 28, 2022 has passed. The winning ticket, which was bought at a retailer in Scarborough, Ontario, was never validated at an OLG lottery terminal, but should someone attempt to validate it at a terminal now, the player would receive a message advising that the ticket has expired.
The Ontario Lottery launched an awareness campaign in an attempt to somehow prompt the owner of the ticket to come forward or perhaps jog their memory of a ticket hiding in a drawer somewhere.
While the winner may never see their $70 million prize, the awareness campaign resulted in over 1,100 calls to OLG's Customer Care Center with people claiming to have lost the ticket, the Lottery said.
However, the Lottery is carefully considering each and every claim, meaning there might yet be a flicker of hope that one of those callers may be the real winner.
"OLG is committed to always paying the right prize to rightful owner of a winning ticket," the Lottery said in a press release. "Due to the high volume of lost ticket claims, OLG's dedicated team of lottery investigators need to take the time necessary to review all of these potential claims made before the expiry deadline. After that process is complete, we will provide a further update."
If the $70 million jackpot prize is not paid out, it will be returned to players through future bonus games or promotions.
The winning numbers for the June 28, 2022 Lotto Max drawing are 8, 19, 22, 41, 42, 46, and 47, with Bonus 10.
To avoid unclaimed prizes, the Lottery recommends players to sign the back of their ticket at the time of purchase, keep tickets in a safe and memorable location until draw time, and check tickets as soon as the drawing takes place. Players may also purchase tickets through an online account, which means the Lottery will be able to notify you via email if your ticket won a prize.
The Lotto Max jackpot currently stands at $50 million (US$37.75 million) for the next drawing on Tues., July 4. Lotto Max drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 10:30 pm EST.
All winning numbers, prizes, and odds are published on Lottery Post's Ontario Lottery Results page right after each drawing.
* If you were the holder of that winning ticket & have just recently discovered it in your top drawer or the shirt you squirreled away in your closet: You have a lot of hurt to unpack from that brain of yours.
* But as they say " this too shall pass."
I treat all tickets like winners, and place them in a secure spot until I check them the day after the drawing.
I only play by subscription, that way I can loose or forget any tickets.
There are several reason for not claiming:
1-Casual player that doesn't check their tickets.
2-Ticket holder squirral away the ticket and died.
3-Forgot to take it out of their pocket and put it in the washer where it got decimated.
4-Drop the ticket while take out change from their pocket.
5-Forgot they purchase a ticket for that draw.
Better them than me.
Expired jackpots should be returned to the pool for the next draw! Returning it to the gov represent a clear conflict of interest. Obviously, lotteries don't put much efforts on locating the possible winners, even though there is security cams that can help ID the winner.
I put every ticket I buy into my desk drawer where I know it will be until draw time. It ain't getting lost or forgotten, etc.
If a person buys a ticket and can't be bothered to take care of it, they don't deserve to win the money.
Harsh, but that's the way it goes.
The ticket winner must have driven through Wyoming and the ticket was caught in the wind, got blown all the way to Alaska 🤣🤣
Did you read the article?
"While the winner may never see their $70 million prize, the awareness campaign resulted in over 1,100 calls to OLG's Customer Care Center with people claiming to have lost the ticket, the Lottery said.
However, the Lottery is carefully considering each and every claim, meaning there might yet be a flicker of hope that one of those callers may be the real winner."
and.. unclaimed prizes (not just jackpots) are returned to the pool (not handed over to the government). This is usually stated/ in the terms and conditions of the lotteries
"If the $70 million jackpot prize is not paid out, it will be returned to players through future bonus games or promotions. "?
Maybe the winning ticket holder decided that he didn't want the money. I've often fantasized about doing that.
Sometimes I ask myself, "Could I walk away from millions of dollars?"
It takes spiritual strength to walk away from money like that.
OUCH.............That would be one I wouldn't even want to ponder any possibility of "wheres my ticket for that draw"