Someone who purchased a lottery ticket in British Columbia a year ago has lost out on $1 million.
A Lotto 6-49 ticket purchased by someone in Victoria on Jan. 3, 2018, expired tonight at 4:30 p.m. PST.
“It was a winning ticket that matched all ten numbers through the Guaranteed Prize draw,” Evan Kelly, a spokesperson for British Columbia Lottery Corporation said in a statement to CTVNews.ca
In order to claim the prize, the winner would have had to go to either the BCLC office in Vancouver or Kamloops with two pieces of government identification in order to claim the prize.
But by 4:30 pm. PST, BCLC staff had seen no sign of the ticket holder coming forward to claim their prize.
"We weren't too surprised," a BCLC employee said.
BCLC staff are also waiting to hear from the winner of a $39-million Lotto Max jackpot that was won in Delta South on Dec. 28.
“While it does happen from time to time, a large prize going unclaimed is extremely rare,” Kelly said.
“Over the past 10 years, approximately $5.2 million has gone unclaimed in B.C. That includes four million-dollar tickets. Two Lotto Max Maxmillion and two 6-49 tickets. If no one comes forward today, that goes up to $6.2 million,” Kelly added.
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation, which oversees games in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and all three territories, has three $1-million prizes that went unclaimed in 2018.
Those winners have one year to come forward.
As for the abandoned $1 million, BCLC staff says that the money will be recirculated and used for future prizes.
