Lotto Max winner loses out on $1M after missing ticket expiry date
The winner of a $1-million Lotto Max prize has forfeited their money after the expiry date for the ticket passed.
Someone who bought a Lotto Max ticket in Toronto won the Maxmillions prize in the June 15, 2021 draw, but the money was never claimed.
Lotto Max winners have one year from the draw date to claim their prize, meaning the prize expired on Wednesday.
"It's unfortunate, and it happens occasionally, big prizes like this, it's rare for them to be unclaimed," OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.
Bitonti said the winning ticket was never checked in a retail store or on the OLG app, meaning the winner likely misplaced it.
This isn't the first time a prize winner in Ontario lost a big winning ticket.
In 2013, a 55-year-old engineer from Hamilton threw her $50-million Lotto Max ticket in the garbage by accident.
"She threw out a stack of tickets and the winning ticket was there," Bitonti said.
Kathryn Jones said she had no idea she had even won until OLG officials contacted her after launching an investigation into the unclaimed prize.
Kathryn Jones, a 55-year-old engineer from Hamilton, Ont., reacts to being announced as the winner of a $50-million Lotto Max jackpot that remained unclaimed for almost a year on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013.
The investigation lasted several months and compared credit card transactions made by Jones to verify the time and date of her purchase.
Officials also looked at surveillance footage from the Shoppers Drug Mart where the ticket was purchased and identified Jones as the winner.
"This was an extraordinary case," Bitonti said.
Bitonti said the OLG investigates missing winners on a case-by-case basis, and there is no threshold to decide who they will try and track down.
"One of the best way of avoiding this is buying your ticket online," Bitonti said. "You'll get an e-mail notifying you that you've won."
Bitonti said the money will be returned to the Lotto Max pool for future jackpots.
Meanwhile, the jackpot in the Lotto Max draw on June 17 is worth an estimated $55 million, with at least six Maxmillions prizes available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.