A EuroMillions player won one million euros ($1.08 million) in the draw on October 3, but never claimed the prize. The sum is now permanently lost, reports Tirage-gagnant.com in a statement released this Sunday, December 3.
"Intensive Searches" Conducted
"The EuroMillions draw on October 3 put up a brand new jackpot of 17 million euros ($18.3 million). In France during this draw, a new player saw their My Million winning code drawn," reports the statement.
"Unfortunately, after intensive searches at various FDJ (Française des jeux, editor’s note) sales points since October 23, the one million prize has not found its owner," indicates Tirage-gagnant.com.
Despite attempts to identify the person, the FDJ issued a search notice that was relayed by local media, but it did not yield any results, according to the statement.
The Jackpot "Permanently Lost"
The site Tirage-gagnant.com states that the sum is now considered "permanently lost" by the FDJ.
The rules are indeed specific on this matter: "Sixty calendar days is the maximum duration to claim a prize, whether it's EuroMillions, Lotto, Eurodreams, Keno, or Amigo."
"Regardless of the amount, each player has about two full months to collect a win before it is lost,"
Ticket Validated on the Island of La Réunion
The only known detail about the winner is that they validated their ticket at a sales point "overseas on the island of La Réunion,".
Although surprising, such situations are not uncommon. Whether they have lost their ticket or did not check the draw result, five people already have not claimed their winnings since the beginning of the year 2023 in France. On average, the amount of unclaimed winnings ranges between "1 and 3 million euros" according to Tirage-gagnant.com.
The unclaimed million euros now returns to the Française des jeux. It "is directly integrated into the 'Jackpot Fund'" for future redistribution.
