Could it be YOU? The unclaimed National Lottery prizes still up for grabs - after one lucky winner missed 180-day deadline to pocket £1m
Three days after the holder of a winning EuroMillions ticket failed to claim a £1 million windfall before the 180-day deadline expired, history is in danger of repeating itself.
Three days after the holder of a winning EuroMillions ticket failed to claim a £1 million windfall before the 180-day deadline expired, history is in danger of repeating itself.
A total of £2.35 million in unclaimed lottery prizes remains outstanding, with the clock ticking for a trio of winners to come forward before the money is reallocated to good causes.
A player from the London borough of Bromley who matched five main numbers plus the bonus ball in the Lotto draw held on Saturday 31 August is in line for a £1 million payout if they claim before 27 February 2025.
In nearby Lambeth, the winner of a £1m EuroMillions prize from the 3 September draw has until 2 March to come forward.
And in Birmingham, a Lotto HotPicks player who successfully matched five numbers on 18 September must stake a claim to a £350,000 windfall by 17 March.
While most players collect their winnings within the permitted timeframe, it is not uncommon for lottery prizes to go unclaimed when people forget to check their tickets or inadvertently discard them.
Andy Carter, the National Lottery’s senior winners adviser, sounded a familiar refrain following the latest mishap, which befell the mystery purchaser of a EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker ticket in Rhondda Cynon Taf on 16 April.
Unfortunately, I can confirm that the ticketholder did not come forward within the deadline to claim their prize and has now sadly missed out on this substantial amount of money,’ said Carter.
Google that form of words and you will find results going back at least 12 years - an indication of just how practised National Lottery officials have become in dealing with such circumstances.
A EuroMillions ticket winner in Wales missed out on the chance to land a £1million fortune after failing to come forward - and a further £2.35 million remains unclaimed
Players who scoop more than £50,000 are required to claim the money in person by completing a form and providing the winning ticket, together with proof of identity and age.
Failure to do so within 180 days of the draw date results in the forfeiture of the cash – although there is a small window of opportunity to save the situation.
If Allwyn UK, the National Lottery operator, is contacted before the 180-day claim period expires, the winner is granted a further seven days to claim the money in person.
It will be of scant consolation to the latest punter to miss out on a fortune that such incidents are not confined to the UK.
Purchasing a EuroMillions ticket automatically enters competitors into the Millionaire Maker draw, earning the player a £1 million windfall if the code on their ticket comes up
Earlier this year in the US state of Florida, the holder of a winning Mega Millions ticket worth $36 million failed to come forward and claim their prize
Earlier this year, the holder of a winning ticket purchased in a supermarket in Jacksonville, Florida failed to claim a $36 million (£30 million) jackpot.
All but 20% of the Mega Millions windfall instead went to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, which was established to improve public education in the US state.
One man in little danger of suffering such a fate is Mehmet Ozer, an Islington shopkeeper whose penchant for a flutter earned him three significant lottery payouts in two decades.
Ozer’s remarkable run of good fortune began when he won £300,000 on a New Year’s Eve draw in Turkey.
That stroke of luck was followed in 2016 by a £303, 456 EuroMillions win, and three years he landed a further £1,750 win in the UK National Lottery.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are Rachel Kennedy and Liam McCrohan, a couple from Hertfordshire who believed they had won a EuroMillions jackpot of £182 million in 2021.
It subsequently transpired that, although their regular numbers had indeed come up, Kennedy had neglected to buy a ticket that week – further proof that, when it comes to winning big, it pays to be organised.
Who are the biggest EuroMillions winners of all time? From salon owners to postmen, the lucky few who won the jackpot - and how they spent it
by Matthew Cox
Gillian and Adrian Bayford celebrated their win in style before they separated just 15 months later
Joe and Jess Thwaite bought their EuroMillions Lucky Dip ticket on the National Lottery App and the next morning received an email saying they had good news
Colin Weir had only spent half of his £80 million share of the winnings he split with wife Chris, before dying in 2019
1. Anonymous, £195m, July 19 2022
A lucky Brit took home a maximum jackpot, capped at this figure, in July 2022.
Their winning numbers were 06, 23, 27, 40, 41 - plus the Lucky Star numbers 02 and 12 - and that is just about everything there is to know about this mystery winner.
2. Unknown, £185m, October 15 2021
A big win in Tahiti in 2021 meant that a record prize had been won for a third time within a year.
First believed to be in France, it emerged that this unknown winner in fact took part from Tahiti by virtue of it being part of French Polynesia, making EuroMillions available to them.
3. Joe and Jess Thwaite, £184m, May 10 2022
UK Record holders for just over two months, Joe and Jess Thwaite took the jackpot home to Gloucester in May 2022.
Conscious of the appeal of keeping quiet, the pair claimed to have gone public to avoid leaving others with the burden of keeping their secret.
Joe, a 49-year-old communications sales engineer at the time, bought the winning ticket online at 4pm on the day of the draw.
Jess, 44 when the couple won, was able to step back from running a hair salon with her sister.
Early the following morning, he checked his phone and saw an email from The National Lottery to say he had won.
Parents to two children, the couple decided to spend their money wisely, using £38,000 of it on a second-hand Volvo, alongside planning a round-the-world celebratory trip.
Mr and Mrs Thwaite celebrate by popping a bottle of champagne at the Ellenborough Hotel in Cheltenham
Shortly after the big win, pictures emerged of the couple arriving at their £650,000 Grade II-listed home in the second-hand Volvo
4. Unknown, £183, December 11 2020
This jackpot was won by a French ticket holder known only as Guy, but it is known that the winnings have been spent on an environmental foundation called Anyama.
5. Unknown, £182m, February 26 2021
This win broke technically broke the record set by Guy, because its value was higher in Euros.
That made it the biggest jackpot win in the eyes of the organisers, which increased the maximum jackpot by a further €10m in line with game rules, for the Tahiti record breaker the following Autumn.
Other big winners: Colin and Chris Weir, £161m, July 12 2011
With a huge win in 2011, Colin and Chris Weir had won the biggest ever lottery draw in Europe.
The prize was built over several rollovers from previous unclaimed jackpots/
The Ayrshire parents of two children split the winnings between themselves, getting £80m each.
Sadly, eight years after the win, Colin died aged 71, after getting through just half of his jackpot, with it mostly having been given away to family, friends, and charities.
As sell as those donations, Colin had not gone without getting himself some nice cars, property, and a portion of his favourite football club - Partick Thistle FC.
Mr Weir gave Partick Thistle FC a £2.5 million investment shortly after his win and more financial backing. A section of Firhill Stadium was named the Colin Weir Stand (above)
The UKs biggest lottery winner Colin Weir spent an average of £100,000-a-week of his winnings before he died
Mr Weir was a TV cameraman before the win, and he apparently still received a pension and when he died, the Department of Work and Pensions owed him arrears of £679.80
Other big winners: Adrian and Gillian Bayford, £148m, August 10 2012
Adrian and Gillian Bayfords lottery win did not go as planned, with Gillian openly admitting she would rather have rermained anonymous.
The pair separated 15 months after being crowned winners, with Gillian leaving to start a property business, while Adrian struggled to sell their £6.5m mansion.
Mr Bayford has also been involved in rows about the use of his land, withconcerns over an Airbnb he opened, and plans to host a rock festival.
