A British winner of the £83 million EuroMillions jackpot has still to come forward and collect their fortune, lottery organisers have said.
National Lottery operator Allwyn has urged players to check their tickets as the grand prize is still up for grabs after one anonymous person matched five numbers at the draw on January 24. But this is not a prize you will be able to sort out with your local corner shop.
It means that someone, somewhere, is due £83,474,081.80 and doesn’t even know it. It’s enough to buy a top tier Premier League footballer, a house in London and maybe even a pint at a West End theatre.
Andy Carter, a senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, said: “I can’t believe there’s one lucky ticket-holder out there who hasn’t claimed this incredible EuroMillions jackpot prize – there are 83,474,081 reasons for them to check their ticket straight away.
“It’s only been six days since the EuroMillions draw but we’re waiting with bated breath to pay out this latest huge winner. We’re urging all EuroMillions players to check their paper tickets to see if they are our missing multi-millionaire.”
He added that it is the first jackpot of the new year following four British winners of the EuroMillions in 2024.
Tickets can be checked in-store or via the National Lottery app. You can call the National Lottery Line on 0333 234 5050 to make a claim.
Here is what it all means.
What happens if the Euromillions jackpot goes unclaimed?
There is no panic yet as the winner can still come forward within 180 days. If no one does then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated while it is held in trust, goes to National Lottery-funded projects across the UK, the lottery said.
“Our players change the lives of individuals as well as communities by raising, on average, over £33 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week,” it said.
What are the biggest unclaimed Euromillions wins?
While the £83 million is no doubt a dizzying prospect, it is still some way short of the all-time record win of £195 million in 2022. The winner chose to stay anonymous.
However, it might yet be the largest prize to have gone unclaimed.
The biggest ever jackpot that was not collected was £64 million in 2012.
