Deadline for $70M unclaimed Ontario lottery ticket expires

The deadline to claim a $70 million lottery prize has now passed, and it remains to be seen if the holder of the winning ticket was found.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. had said in May that no one had come forward for nearly a year with the winning ticket, which was drawn in June 2022.

The organization has said that the lottery would become the largest unclaimed individual jackpot in the country if a winner didn't step forward by 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The OLG is currently assessing around 100 claims to see if any of them are legitimate.

Spokesperson Tony Bitonti says the OLG will announce in the coming days whether a winner has been identified.

He says the OLG has all the information about the winning ticket, including when and where it was sold.

“There is still the possibility that we may find a needle in the haystack,” he said.

If the real winner is not identified, the prize money will be returned to the Lotto Max prize pool and put towards future promotions and draws, Bitonti said.

“Eventually that money will come back to the players,” he said.

He explained that verifying individual claims can take several days.

“As long as people have made a claim prior to the expiry, you're still in the queue,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2023.