Lottery corporation flooded with 700+ inquiries as deadline nears to claim $70M prize

Jun 6 2023, 1:00 pm

It could very well be the largest lottery prize to go unclaimed in Canada.

In what it calls “a rare occurrence in Canadian lottery history,” the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says that a $70 million Lotto Max ticket from the June 28, 2022, draw is still unclaimed.

And now the year-long deadline to claim the prize is mere weeks away and OLG has been inundated with calls.

“In general, we’ve had about 760 inquiries,” said OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti. He said people are calling OLG to check if they’re the owners of the winning ticket.

“Other ones do claim to say, ‘Yes, I think it’s my ticket,'” said Bitonti.

He said that OLG has the information about the ticket and the time it was purchased. However, only the winner would know certain key information such as where exactly the ticket was purchased and what purchases they added to their ticket.

In this case, there’s no video to verify the winner’s identity.

@atlanticlottery/Instagram

“We’re pushing for this a lot more because of the value,” said Bitonti. “Somebody bought that ticket and they won. And they don’t know or they lost the ticket. And we’ll do the due diligence.”

The only information known to the public right now is that the ticket was purchased in Scarborough, Ontario. The winning numbers are 08, 19, 22, 41, 42, 46, 47, and 10.

Bitonti said that it’s normal for lottery players who win a massive jackpot to check their ticket a few times, consult their lawyer, and take a few months before coming forward to claim their prize. However, in this case, the winning ticket has never been scanned with the OLG app or checked at the self-checker at stores and kiosks.

When asked what he thinks happened to the winning ticket, Bitonti said that it’s likely that the person lost the slip.

If you buy a lottery ticket, Bitonti suggests checking it and signing it right away.

“Keep it on your fridge, in your junk drawer, but check it right away,” he said. “Don’t forget about them.” Or better yet, buy the ticket online so you’ll be notified via email if you win.

If the winner fails to come forward, the huge jackpot goes back into the Lotto Max prize pool.

So what does Bitonti think happened to the winner?

“That’s the $70 million question,” he said.

With files from Isabelle Docto

Irish Mae SilvestreIrish Mae Silvestre

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