You could be a secret lottery winner: over $16 million in prizes unclaimed across Australia
- Over $16 million in unclaimed lottery prizes
- Nearly two dozen people have yet to claim tickets
- The highest unclaimed prize is $4.8 million
Australians are missing out on millions of dollars with nearly two dozen people sitting on unclaimed lottery tickets somewhere in their homes.
There are currently 21 unclaimed Division 1 and Major Lottery prizes across Australia worth $15,840,462.05.
NSW residents can claim the trophy as they are the most forgetful lottery winners with 10 prizes to be claimed in the state, followed by Queensland with 8, two in the ACT and one in Victoria.
The highest unclaimed prize is a ‘Set For Life’ worth an eye-watering $4.8 million won in April 2021 with a ticket purchased from Thistle Kiosk, Woden in the ACT.
People are urged to check old shopping bags and search through their cars and wallets for old tickets that could be a winner.
There are six other winners who can pocket at least a million dollars in winnings.
One of the most recent unclaimed prizes is a $775,265.76 TattsLotto prize won in April from a ticket sold at Mernda Lucky Charm in Victoria.
Depending on where you live, you may only be able to come forward for a limited amount of time to claim any lottery winnings.
In Queensland, people have seven years to come forward, while NSW and ACT residents have six.
However, in Victoria people have only 12 months to claim directly from the lottery company and after that they have to claim it directly from the government.
One Queenlsand winner can claim his million dollar prize with a ticket purchased in 2016.
If the money is not claimed within the prize period, the prize will either go to the government, to the community through donations, or back to players in bonus draws, depending on the jurisdiction.
People have taken years to come forward to claim their prize, with a man discovering his lottery ticket from the previous year in a shopping bag while cleaning his car.
He then checked to see if it was a winner and discovered that he was a million dollars richer.
If you feel like you’ve lost your ticket, there are some steps you need to take to get a replacement ticket.
Across Australia, nearly $16 million remains unclaimed.
If your tickets are registered on a players card, you can call The Lott on 131 868 and they will send you a free ticket certificate or a check by post.
If you have not registered the ticket, you will need to fill out a form to provide various details about the ticket, including what type, where it was purchased, time of purchase and how it was paid for.
You will also need to pay a $15 or $22 search fee in South Australia to find the ticket in the system.