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$2.5 billion in OLG prizes

In the last fiscal year, ending March 31, 2024, the OLG paid out $2.5 billion in lottery prizes.

While not an exact figure, if we do the math ourselves, one per cent of $2.5 billion comes out to $25 million in unclaimed prizes.

OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti says it’s rare for a large prize to go unclaimed. Most unclaimed prizes are things such as free tickets, or cash prizes of $2 to $10.

It happens “because customers forget to check or forget to cash in these winning tickets,” he said via email.

$70M ticket expired in 2023

In 2023, there was a highly publicized ticket that went unclaimed. A ticket that won $70 million was sold somewhere in Scarborough and the owner of the ticket never showed up to claim their prize. The ticket expired on June 28, 2023.

Players have up to a year to cash in their winnings on games that are printed at the lottery terminal, such as Lotto Max and Lotto 6-49. Instant scratch games have an expiry date printed on the back of the ticket, and winners of these games generally have a year and a half to two years from the date of the sale to when they must be cashed in.

The OLG publishes details of winning tickets that have gone unclaimed for a long time on its , in the hopes of ensuring all large prizes are paid out. Then, if there are only a few weeks left before the winning ticket expires, the OLG issues a news release, which is available to local media, to help spread the word if there is a large prize about to expire in the area.

What happens to unclaimed prizes?

Despite the OLG’s efforts to pay out all winners, there are still millions in prizes that go unclaimed each year. So, what happens to this money?

For national lottery games, including Lotto Max and Lotto 6-49, this money is returned to the national prize pool for future draws. So, this money can go toward future prizing, bonus games, promotions, etc.

For Ontario-only games, also known as regional games, such as Lottario and Ontario 49, the unclaimed prizes go to the province.

The OLG is a Crown agency that operates and manages Ontario’s gaming, including lottery, casinos and more, and generates revenue for the province.

For fiscal 2022-23, the OLG generated $2.5 billion in net profit, which goes directly to the Ontario government. Since 1975, when it launched, the OLG generated approximately $62 billion for the Province of Ontario.