In 2024, Belgians have bet more than a billion euros in the National Lottery. In other words, 70% of Belgians played at least once last year. However, some will not recover their winnings, what happens to this unrecovered money? Can you get your money back if you lost the jackpot ticket? Yes, but with “a certain number of elements”, explains the National Lottery
Going to the store to check your ticket is the safest way to avoid missing out on the jackpot. “You have on the lotto ticket, different games, therefore the joker, the lotto and the bonus code which can be drawn at random. The latter is much more difficult to verify as we do not return to a point of sale. Sometimes, like this week, it can go up to a million euros on a bonus code“, explains Bruno Castelli, bookseller.
If some are cautious, as evidenced by this client: “I am vigilant. Yes, when I pass, I go to the machine to see if I have won from time to time“. Other players will not necessarily recover their winnings. Between the lotto grids and the scratch tickets forgotten at the bottom of a bag or in a drawer, in 2023, 4.4 million euros will not have been claimed from the National Lottery.
Small unclaimed amounts go to the Lottery’s good works funds. Concerning large seven-figure winnings, if the winner does not appear within four to five months, the Lottery will do everything possible to find them.
“When we talk about a big winner, we do real research. We had periods where we issued press releases saying, we are looking for a winner. So, normally, we find it“, explains Jannie Haek, managing director of the National Lottery.
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If the winner still cannot be found, the sum will increase the next prize pool. In case you have the right numbers, but you have lost your ticket, everything is still possible. The Lottery is carrying out its investigation in this case, confirms Jean-Nicolas David, financial director of the National Lottery: “You must bring a certain number of elements, show that these are numbers that you usually play, demonstrate that you have played in the point of sale that you are contacting“.
The last big unclaimed win from the National Lottery was €1 million.
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