Unclaimed Lotto worth millions

With larger and larger jackpots, lucky Lotto punters are cleaning up huge prize pools – but many Kiwis are also failing to check their tickets and are missing out on big money.

There was $10,599,557 in unclaimed prizes left on the Lotto books in the past financial year.

The two largest unclaimed Lotto prizes in the 2012 calendar year were first-division wins of $666,667 – the ticket for which was sold at Christchurch’s Templeton Convenience Store – and $500,000, sold at Gift & Lotto Shop Rangiora.

There were also seven unclaim- ed Winning Wheel rewards tickets, with a minimum value of $100,000 and a maximum of $1 million.

Anyone hoarding their unchecked tickets had better hurry, though – Lotto tickets do come with an expiry date, warns the Lotteries Commission’s Karen Jones.

‘‘Customers have 12 months from the date of the draw in which their ticket wins to claim their prize. After 12 months, all unclaimed prizes are returned to the Prize Reserve Fund.’’

The Prize Reserve Fund is Lot- to’s back-up pool for funding special prizes from ‘‘time to time’’, such as ticket-purchase prizes at Christmas.

Lotto figures show Kiwis claimed $540 million in prizes – from Lotto, Strike, Powerball, Big Wednesday, Keno, Bullseye and Instant Kiwis – in the 2011/12 year.

Total sales amounted to $946 million.

In the past five years, New Zealanders have pumped $4.3 billion into Lotteries – the equivalent of every man, woman and child having spent $1000 each in that period, or $200 each per year.