Camelot, the UK’s lottery operators, go to great lengths to try and marry up the larger unclaimed Lotto and EuroMillions prizes with the winning ticket holders. They advertise the fact that there is an unclaimed prize in the area where the ticket was purchased, increasing the coverage as the 180 day deadline approaches. It’s not unusual for the operators to receive 100’s of claims when one of the larger prizes go unclaimed from players who lost their tickets, even if they didn’t know the numbers they selected on those tickets. If claimants can match the time that they say they bought the ticket along with the retailer the ticket was purchased through, then The National Lottery would usually launch an investigation. Valid claims can often be confirmed by using CCTV footage. If a ticket was purchased through a Post Office then it’s likely that the purchaser would be caught on screen. If an investigation turns up a likely valid claimant but not one that they can be sure keluaran hk of beyond any doubt, Camelot would wait until the 180 day claim period had expired just to make sure that no-one else claims the prize. If they haven’t then on occasion, the operators have paid out the prize.

There’s another reason why winnings can remain unclaimed. Players are often in shock when they discover they have won a life changing amount of money. It’s not uncommon for some players to wait days or even weeks before making a claim whilst they let it ‘sink in’.

The best ways in which you can make sure that you don’t lose out on a lottery prize in the UK is to buy your National Lottery tickets online. Online ticket winners are notified automatically within hours of the draw taking place. There hasn’t yet been an online ticket winner who hasn’t received their winnings. It’s also a great way to make sure that you never miss out on buying a ticket. Set up a direct debit and you’ll never miss a draw again. It also saves you having to check the results after each draw. Just sit back and wait and see if you receive a ‘News About Your Ticket!’ email. When you do there’s always that few seconds where you can dream of winning a jackpot before discovering in most cases that all you’ve actually won is a tenner.