A national lottery ticket worth R10 066 972 expired on Sunday after the winner didn’t claim the prize, said Uthingo spokesperson Shenanda Janse van Rensburg on Tuesday.
The Quickpick ticket was bought in Gauteng for the draw that took place on Saturday December 18 last year.
The winning numbers were 2, 3, 18, 23, 24 and 36.
Janse van Rensburg said it is unfortunate that the prize was not claimed. Since January this year, nine prizes (jackpot or five numbers and the bonus number) have expired.
“We currently have 13 prizes that are unclaimed. The next unclaimed prize of R1,9-million will expire on January 29 next year,” she said.
The reasons for people not claiming their prizes vary, said Janse van Rensburg.
“Many people choose to claim a more substantial amount and collect several smaller winning tickets before claiming it, while others only claim the bigger-amount prizes. The other unfortunate reason is that some tickets might have been misplaced or lost,” she said.
Winners have up to 365 days from the date of a particular draw to claim their prizes. If the money is not claimed, half of it will go to the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund for distribution and the balance is retained by the operator, Uthingo, to supplement prizes for special draws.
Prizes of more than R50 000 are only payable at national lottery offices, which are open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
If a player cannot reach a national lottery office before 5pm on the day of expiry, he or she can call the customer help line on Tel: 0800 40 30 40.
Janse van Rensburg advises that people should cash their winning tickets immediately to avoid losing their tickets or misplacing them.
People who misplace their tickets can also report lost or stolen tickets to Uthingo. The place of purchase, time of purchase, numbers chosen, how many boards were played and so forth will be requested in order for Uthingo to identify the ticket on its data system.
Uthingo will then withhold payment for 365 days pending the outcome of an investigation.