What many people can only dream of would be a reality for winners of huge sums of money in the lottery. But in the following cases, the winners never came forward – despite an extensive search – and simply let several million euros slip away.
The “Bayern Million”
As Bayerischer Rundfunk reports, a lottery prize of one million euros, the “Bayern Million”, went to the state treasury of the Free State of Bavaria at the beginning of 2024 because it was not claimed. Previously, posters were used to search for the winner, but no one came forward. According to a report by Der Westen, the record for the highest lottery winnings not claimed in Bavaria is 2.1 million euros.
11.3 million euros not collected in Baden-Württemberg
The largest unclaimed winnings in Baden-Württemberg to date came from a drawing in April 2017 for the Lotto 6aus49 and amounted to 11.3 million euros. As DER SPIEGEL reports, this profit was not claimed in 2021. The ticket was handed in anonymously at a collection point in Reutlingen. Nothing is known about the reasons for non-collection. According to the managing director of Staatliche Toto-Lotto GmbH, the sum then flowed into the pot for special draws.
The Nicholas Million
The deadline for collecting a lottery prize of one million euros passed in Saxony-Anhalt on December 31, 2022, as EXPRESS reports. This win was achieved through a ticket in the Lotto 6aus49, which took part in a nationwide St. Nicholas special draw in December 2019. The lottery ticket in question was purchased in the Mansfeld-Hettstedt region.
World record is $731.1 million
According to a report by Guenther.de, a player from the USA holds the world record for the largest unclaimed lottery win. It is an astonishing winnings of the equivalent of 611.6 million euros from a Powerball lottery that was won in January 2020 but not claimed. There was a deadline of 182 days after the draw to claim the prize.
Unlucky guy from Düsseldorf missed out on 22 million euros
According to a report by EXPRESS, a particularly tragic case occurred in Düsseldorf: a player missed out on winnings of 22 million euros due to a 30-minute delay in submitting the ticket. As EXPRESS reports, the 61-year-old man arrived late at the lottery acceptance point because of a purchase, which is why his ticket was no longer accepted for the current drawing. In the evening, during the lottery draw, he discovered that he would have won the entire jackpot of 22 million euros if he had arrived on time.
Editorial team finanzen.net