Realising you’ve won a lottery prize can be an exhilarating experience. Elation, however, can soon turn to despair when you cannot locate the winning ticket or scratchcard.
In these instances, people search everywhere in an attempt to find the piece of card or paper that proves they have won a prize.
Some are lucky enough to find their winning ticket, whereas others are not. In this article, we take a look at the strangest ways people have lost their winning lottery tickets and scratchcards.
1. Dog Eats Man’s Scratchcard For Lunch
Gareth Thomas was ‘buzzing’ when he discovered he’d won £500 on a scratchcard he’d purchased in his home city of Cardiff, UK.
But after leaving the scratchcard on the table at his house to bring in some washing from the garden, he returned five minutes later to discover it had been destroyed by his dog, Teddy, who obviously viewed it as a tasty snack.
Typical, isn’t it? The one time I actually win something, and the dog thinks it’s lunch.
Gareth Thomas
Despite contacting the National Lottery in a vain attempt to claim his prize, Gareth was told that without a legible ticket, he would not receive the £500 winnings.
2. Lucky Glove Compartment Discovery
Thankfully, not all of these cases of lost or destroyed lottery tickets and scratchcards have an unhappy ending.
Taxi driver, Amo Riselli from Gloucester, UK, left his winning lottery ticket in the glove compartment of his car for two days before finding it to realise he had matched five numbers, enough to scoop a huge £24,501,283.
The cabbie declared he would retire with the winnings and buy his dream car, a Ferrari.
3. Ticket Left In Pocket Of Donated Jacket
Mildred Simoneriluto from Pennsylvania, US, was delighted when her lucky numbers came up in a lottery draw with a $2.5 million jackpot.
Delight soon turned to despair for Mildred, though, when she realised she’d left the ticket in a pocket of a jacket she’d recently donated to a charity for veterans.
When she contacted the charity, she was told that clothing donations are sent throughout the country and often around the world, meaning her winning ticket could be anywhere.
4. $26m Fortune Washed Away
A woman, who has not been named, says she destroyed her winning California Lottery ticket, and with it the chance of claiming the $26 million prize, by leaving it in her trouser pocket before putting them in the wash.
Despite there reportedly being CCTV footage of the woman purchasing the ticket from a store, the California Lottery refused to pay out, with a spokeswoman saying “compelling substantial proof you were in possession of the ticket” was required.
5. £76m Winning Ticket Found In Visor
Well, as it’s only right to end on a happy note, here’s the story of Andrew Clarke, a builder from the UK, who managed to win a whopping £76m on the Euromillions after finding his ticket… eventually.
After hearing about the unclaimed prize on the news, Andrew’s partner and niece encouraged him to check his tickets.
Thankfully, he managed to find the winning ticket in the visor of his van, a whole six weeks after the draw had been made.
Millions of Pounds Worth of Unclaimed Prizes in the UK
It was revealed last year that over £57.6 million in lottery prizes went unclaimed in the UK between March 2023 and the end of January 2024. This staggering total includes wins from Lotto, EuroMillions, and scratchcards – all left without a rightful owner.
If you play the National Lottery, it’s important to remember that winners have 180 days from the date of the draw (or the scratchcard game’s closure date) to claim their prize.
After this time, the money is no longer retrievable by the winner. Instead, unclaimed prizes are transferred to the National Lottery’s Good Causes fund, helping to support arts, sports, and community projects across the country.
It’s a sobering reminder: even life-changing wins can slip through the cracks if tickets are misplaced, damaged, or forgotten about.
Whether you play regularly or just now and then, it’s always worth double-checking your tickets – you never know what might be hiding in a coat pocket or down the side of the sofa.
