The £127,298 prize for a winning lottery ticket bought in the Chichester area has not been claimed.
Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, operator of The National Lottery, has announced that prize from the Lotto draw on July 30 last year has remained unclaimed more than 180 days after the draw took place.
Therefore the money, plus the interest it earned, has now passed over to The National Lottery Good Causes. The ticket-holder – who matched five numbers and the bonus ball – bought their Lotto ticket in the Chichester area. The deadline for the ticket-holder to claim their prize was at 5.30pm yesterday (January 26).
A National Lottery spokesman said: “Unfortunately, I can confirm that the ticket-holder did not come forward within the deadline to claim their prize and has now sadly missed out on this substantial amount of money.
“To avoid this unfortunate situation happening again, I would urge all National Lottery players to check their tickets on a regular basis.
“We tried very hard to find the ticket-holder and it’s a real shame that they have missed out, but there is still one winner – the nation. This money, and all the interest earned over the 180 days, will now go to The National Lottery Good Causes – adding to the £27 billion already raised and distributed to over 370,000 individual awards that have benefited people, communities and projects across the UK.”
The unclaimed prize from the Chichester area will be added to the staggering £27 billion that has already been raised for The National Lottery Good Causes through National Lottery ticket sales since launch in November 1994.
With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. Anyone who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000.
Anyone concerned about lost or unchecked tickets may like to consider either setting up a National Lottery Subscription, playing online at www.national-lottery.co.uk or on their mobile phone.
Numbers can be entered in advance and lucky winners are notified online if their numbers come up. For further information call 0845 912 5000 or visit www.national-lottery.co.uk.