The National Lottery is urging players to check their online accounts as there are more than 1.5 million players with an untouched prize who may not even be aware they are a winner.
Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, has revealed that across the past year an astonishing 1,542,081 Brits have played a game, won a prize but the winnings remain unspent in their account.
The untouched prizes range all the way up to the maximum which is paid directly into an online account, which is £500. More than 195,000 players have wins of over £10 just sat there waiting to be spent, with an average in the 1.5m accounts of £3.90. Together, they add up to over 1.9m wins ready to be enjoyed by players across the UK.
Whether it’s enough for a morning coffee, a takeaway with friends or a weekend away, many players may not realise they have a prize just sitting in their account. With Lotto currently offering players the chance to be a millionaire for less than the price of a coffee, those untouched prizes could provide the perfect opportunity to grab a ticket and look to land a million.
The findings reveal that 130,375 of these players are in Scotland, 74,444 in Wales and 27,767 in Northern Ireland. Across England a whopping 200,553 are in London, 180,672 from the North West and 121,141 from the West Midlands.
Andy Carter said, “Come on, you’ve played a game, become a winner and yet not enjoyed your win. It’s time to log on and check – it could be you!”
“I love making winners and it always amazes me that some players seem happy to wait to enjoy their win. Whether it’s a few pounds or something much larger, it’s money that could be spent on a treat, saved for something special or even used to play again. With Lotto making double the number of millionaires this win in your account could turn into a chance to win a million in just a couple of clicks.”
Since National Lottery funding began in 1994, more than £53 billion has been raised for good causes, supporting over 680,000 projects across the UK. Every week, National Lottery players raise around £33 million for projects in every corner of the country.
