Unclaimed $70M lottery ticket expires, OLG still reviewing hundreds of potential claims

The ticket for a $70 million jackpot in a Lotto Max draw is now expired, but the money could soon be up for grabs again.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says the winning ticket that was sold last year in Scarborough is no longer valid after it was not validated at a terminal by Wednesday’s 10:30 p.m. deadline.

The OLG says it received more than 1,100 calls to its customer care centre with people claiming to have lost the ticket. A team of lottery investigators are now reviewing all the potential claims made before the deadline.

“OLG’s awareness campaign about the unclaimed $70 million jackpot has generated unprecedented media attention in the hopes of jogging the ticket owner’s memory so that this person or group would come forward with the ticket,” reads a release from OLG about the now-expired ticket.

Another update will be provided once the review process of the pending claims is complete.

If they still come up empty, the $70 million prize will be returned to Lotto Max players through future bonus games or promotions.

If the rightful owner is not found, it will be the largest unclaimed lottery prize in Canadian history.