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PlayOn the 11th June, only one person matched all five numbers and both Lucky Stars to win the entirety of a £123 million EuroMillions prize. The winner did not initially come forward to claim the jackpot, leading lottery officials to appeal for EuroMillions players across the country to check and double-check their tickets, lest they miss out on the multi-million pound jackpot. After nine days of speculation, the winner came forward on the evening of the 21st June.
EuroMillions Jackpot Claimed After Six Weeks
It is not the first time a substantial EuroMillions prize has gone unclaimed for a period of time. In one high-profile example, tradesman Andrew Clark came forward to claim a £76 million jackpot over six weeks after winning. When asked about the delay in collecting his prize, he revealed that he had hoarded over a month’s worth of unchecked lottery tickets in his work van, and had a “standing joke” with some family over not having checked them yet. Only after weeks of urging by his partner, and an announcement from the National Lottery that the winning ticket was sold in his area, did he sift through the mountain of tickets – to discover he was the mystery winner after all.
EuroMillions prizes won in the UK must be claimed within 180 days of the draw in which they were won. If a prize is not claimed in this time, it expires and the winner no longer has the right to claim it. The expired winnings are allocated to the National Lottery’s Good Causes fund, where they benefit thousands of charities, trusts and associations across the UK.
£7 Million in Unclaimed EuroMillions Prizes
Millions of pounds in EuroMillions prizes go unclaimed each year – over £7 million in prizes are currently unclaimed, with some £1 million prizes expiring as soon as the end of July. UK Millionaire Maker prizes are the most commonly seen type of prize to go unclaimed, potentially due to players misreading winning raffle codes, or focusing instead on matching their numbers. To date, only one EuroMillions jackpot won in the UK has gone unclaimed. A £63.8 million prize was won in Hertfordshire in June 2012, but no one came forward to claim it before 180 days had passed.
The winner of the 11th June EuroMillions draw had until Sunday, December 8th to claim their £123 million jackpot, before it was allocated to the Good Causes fund. Visit our Good Causes guide to find out more about where the money goes – or, find out more on claiming EuroMillions prizes.