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“We’re always going to ask you some questions because we need to know where that ticket was purchased, we need to know if you are the rightful owner of that ticket,” Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) spokesperson Tony Bitonti said in explaining the prize claim process.

The OLG runs Ontario’s lotteries — this includes the games purchased at store terminals, such as Lotto Max and Lotto 6-49, as well as instant scratch tickets. Tickets can also be purchased online via the OLG app or at . The two games mentioned above and Daily Grand are national games, which means they are run in co-ordination with the other lottery operators in the country. The rest of OLG’s games are Ontario-only lotteries.

Prizes of up to $999 can be paid out at the retailer — just present your signed ticket and get your money right at the store (smaller shops may direct you to a larger retailer).

Prize claim review

Prizes greater than $1,000 go through a prize claim review process, requiring players to claim their prizes either at the OLG prize centre in Toronto or via OLG’s online portal.

“Whether it’s $1,000 or $70 million, the process of prize claim review is always the same,” Bitonti said.

The OLG has a lot of information about every ticket. This includes where it was sold, on what day and at what time it was sold and whether any other lottery tickets were purchased at the same time. There are also a number of security features on each printed ticket.

So, when a player claims a prize, OLG officials will ask a series of questions, including where and when the ticket was purchased.

Answer all the questions and you can have your money within a few hours of claiming your prize.

If you forget some of the details, then the claiming process could take days or weeks to complete.

This is why the OLG asks people to claim their prizes right away, Bitonti said, because if you forget certain details, it can delay the claims process. This is not uncommon either, as people often leave their tickets in coats and when there’s a seasonal change, those coats go in the closet and tickets are forgotten for months.

People who travel a lot could end up buying their tickets who knows where in the country and forget those details.

“If you wait a year or a little less than a year, you may forget that information,” Bitonti said.

If a person has a hard time remembering those details, OLG staff may prompt the individual in the hopes of jogging their memory, such as asking if you were in a particular city, what store you might have purchased the ticket at, but would never give away the answer.

If the claimant still can’t remember those details or there are other issues with the claim, the claim will be escalated to OLG’s investigations team, which could result in the prize claim process taking even longer.

Investigators can sometimes go out to the store where the ticket was sold and if that store has security footage from that date and time, they could ask to review it, but not all retailers have security cameras or keep the footage for long.

There was a case of a Hamilton woman who won $50 million even though she lost her ticket. OLG officials were able to verify she was the rightful owner following an interview process, surveillance footage review and proof of credit card purchase.

“We always want to pay the rightful prize to the rightful owner, so we have to do the due diligence to pay that prize out, so it does take a bit of time,” Bitonti said.

“In the end, if we can determine the rightful ownership of that ticket, we’ll pay that ticket.”

Other things to know

Winner’s name and photo in newspaper

As a matter of transparency, the OLG publishes the name of every person who wins a prize of more than $1,000, and includes where they are from, the prize amount and the game they won on. These names are published on the OLG website the day after person receives their money.

For winners of larger prizes, the OLG will also include the winner’s photo.

For winners of really large prizes, such as of $50,000 or more, the OLG will also issue a news release. (This is how news media are able to write articles about lottery winners and run their photos in newspapers, websites and TV news coverage).

Group winners

Group-play winners go through the same prize claim process as individuals; however, OLG officials will interview each person individually to ensure that everyone who deserves to be included in the win is included. The process typically starts with the group captain, usually that’s the person buying and checking the tickets, and then OLG officials can call each group member one by one.

If groups have documents, such as a list of players who paid into the ticket, officials will ask for that as well.

There is no wait period for paying out group winners, but it takes a bit longer to interview each person, and if there is any discrepancy that can delay the process as well.

Fun fact: couples who play the lottery are technically a group.

Insider win

Individuals who work where lotteries are sold are considered insiders and there are various rules around that.

For starters, you cannot buy lottery tickets where you work, regardless of whether you are working at the time or not, but you are allowed to buy tickets at another store.

If an insider wins a prize of $1,000 or more, they must identify as an insider.

There is also a required 30-day wait period after validation. The OLG will publish details of the insider win to see if any other person makes a claim on that prize. Bitonti said there has not been such a claim since the OLG instituted this 30-day wait rule.

Gifted tickets

If the ticket was a gift, the OLG will interview the person who bought the ticket, and ask them some of the same questions that are asked of winners who bought their own tickets.

Additionally, this person will be asked to sign a declaration signifying that they’re not going to make a claim on the prize.

Writing on the ticket

People are asked not to write on the ticket except for their signature. Writing on the ticket won’t prevent the winner from receiving their winnings, but officials have to decipher what that writing is, and that could result in a prolonging the prize claim process.

Disclaimer: Poll results are not scientific. As the informal findings of a survey presented to the readers of this site, they reflect the opinions of those who have chosen to participate. The survey is available online to anyone interested in taking it. This poll does not restrict the number of votes each person can cast.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated Sept. 17, 2024 to indicate that individuals are not allowed to purchase lottery tickets at their place of work.