Ontario lottery winner about to give up $100,000 with prize days from expiring

A convince store owner hands OLG 649 and Lotto Max tickets at his store during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mississauga, Ont., on Monday, May 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Did you buy a lottery ticket in Ontario last year?

If so, you might want to check your pockets and rummage through your sofa cushions because a winning Lotto 6/49 Encore ticket worth $100,000 is about to expire.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation said in a news release issued Thursday that the ticket won following the draw on July 28, 2021.

While the $5-million jackpot in that draw went unclaimed, two winning Encore tickets worth $100,000 a piece were identified. So far, only one has been claimed.

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Players have exactly one year from the draw date to claim their prize, which means one lucky person has less than two weeks to collect their loot.

The winning numbers are 8843253 and the ticket must match those Encore numbers in exact order to collect the prize.

Meanwhile, the OLG said that an unclaimed Lotto 6/49 ticket worth $10,000 from the July 31, 2021 draw will also expire. In that case, the ticket was sold in King City.

OLG External Communications Director Tony Bitonti has told CTV News Toronto in the past that the most common reason a ticket goes unclaimed is because it’s forgotten.

RELATED: Lotto Max winner loses out on $1M after missing ticket expiry date

“Many tickets are forgotten in kitchen drawers or in jacket pockets (especially when the seasons change). For example, you buy your ticket on a particularly cold spring day and put it in a jacket pocket, but then the weather turns warm and the jacket goes into the closet and the ticket is forgotten,” he said last month.

In any case, if an OLG prize does go unclaimed, Bitonti explained that any forfeited winnings will be returned to players through future bonus games or promotions.

If you think you’ve got the winning ticket and want to confirm you can do so by using any of the following options:

• Check the winning numbers on OLG.ca.
• Use the OLG App on your mobile device. Scan the ticket barcode and wait for the message to appear on the screen.
• Call the “WIN! Line” at 416-870-8946 (Toronto area) or toll free at 1-866-891-8946 (outside Toronto area).