The 14 Aussies who don't know they're Lotto millionaires - is it you?
A handful of Australians are ending the year as millionaires – but they don’t even know it.
There are 14 unclaimed division one Lotto prizes across Australia collectively worth $13,510,114.95, The Lott revealed on Wednesday.
Since all of the tickets weren’t registered, lottery officials have no way of contacting the winners.
The Lott is urging all Aussies to look for unchecked tickets as they tidy their home and prepare for the holidays.
The tickets were purchased in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.
“Remarkably, eight of the 14 unclaimed lottery division one prizes were from tickets purchased in Queensland. We’re not sure why Queenslanders are reluctant to pocket their prizes, but we’re hoping to spur our unsuspecting winners into action,” The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said.
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“The biggest and oldest unclaimed division one winning entry in Australia was purchased in Cairns in 2014 and is worth $2 million. Imagine how this winner could have spent the past six years enjoying their windfall,” he said.
Half of the unclaimed tickets are from draws held this year, worth more than $6.7million.
Those 2019 winning tickets were bought from Gatton and Victoria Point in Queensland, Traralgon and Ringwood in Victoria, Carnarvon in Western Australia and Latrobe in Tasmania.
“Needless to say, with more than $13 million in division one prize money waiting to be claimed nationally, it could be well worth checking any old lottery tickets you find in-store or online,” Mr Hart said.
The news comes just days ahead of the Lotto $30 Million Megadraw on December 28.
The draw is “nationally renowned for creating more millionaires than any other,” Mr Hart said.
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