UK Lottery Winner Has Only One More Week to Claim £1M Prize

Posted on: September 1, 2022, 10:56h. 

Last updated on: September 1, 2022, 04:06h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The clock is ticking for someone in the UK to step forward and claim a £1-million (US$1.15 million) lottery prize. There’s only one week left before the prize will be lost forever.

EuroMillions Lottery
Tickets for a EuroMillions Lottery draw with the Millionaire Maker code in the center. The winner of a draw in March only has one more week to claim the prize. (Image: The Sun)

The unknown individual hit the prize on the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker draw on March 11. So far, the only thing anyone knows is that the person bought the ticket in the London suburb of Ealing.

The limit for claiming a National Lottery win is 180 days from the draw date. Therefore, if the winner doesn’t claim the prize by Sept. 7, the deal’s off, and the lottery operator gets to keep the funds.

The code for the March 11 EuroMillions draw was MNZW 39388. Those who haven’t checked to see if they won can visit the National Lottery website or download its app. Anyone can be a winner, even those who least expect it.

Million-Dollar Loss

Every EuroMillions Millionaire Maker draw creates a single millionaire. The player will automatically receive a unique EuroMillions Millionaire Maker number on every ticket when making a purchase.

Players generate more than £30 million (US$34.6 million) per week by playing National Lottery games. If no one claims the prize before the deadline, all the prize money and interest will go to National Lottery-funded projects in the UK.

The money can be used to support anything. This includes local charities that make a difference in the community or funding the Commonwealth Games medals for athletes. The National Lottery has collected more than £46 billion (US$53 billion) and awarded over 670,000 grants since it began.

If the winner doesn’t want to come forward because they don’t want their name in the papers, the National Lottery is fine with that. Winners can remain anonymous if they choose.

At the end of July, someone in Illinois hit the $1.33 billion Mega Millions lottery. That person hasn’t come forward, either, but also has the chance to remain anonymous. That lucky winner has more leeway in coming forward, as Mega Millions claims can be made up to a year following a draw.

Jumping With Excitement

This past Saturday, an Australian man in Perth won this past Saturday’s Lotto draw, netting him AU$900K (US$609,570), and didn’t waste time celebrating.

When he found out, he spent time with his son and his girlfriend at home. He checked his ticket, realized he was a winner, and immediately let the cat out of the bag. Within minutes, his entire neighborhood learned of his good fortune.

Both the Aussie and the UK lottery winners have an extra bonus. Unlike the US Mega Millions winner, who has to give up at least 24% in taxes, they get to keep the entire amount.