Dorset Winner Finally Claims £40 Million Jackpot

There had been fears that the winner might miss out on their prize, with National Lottery officials admitting that it was unusual for such large jackpots to remain unclaimed for so long. All prizes expire 180 days after a draw has taken place, so the final date for this award to be claimed was 31st May. If it had not been paid out, the entire amount would have gone to the Good Causes Fund.

However, it has now been announced that the prize has been claimed at last, with more than two months to spare until the deadline. Andy Carter, the National Lottery’s Senior Winners’ Advisor, said: “We’re delighted that the winner of this amazing prize has now come forward and that they can now start to enjoy their huge win.”

The winning numbers for the draw were 18, 31, 32, 38 and 48, with Lucky Stars 4 and 12. Take a look at the Results page to see a full prize breakdown.

No more details have been released about the winner at this stage, so the exact location of the store where the ticket was sold remains undisclosed, as well as the reason why the prize was not claimed more quickly.

The only information to be revealed during the hunt for the winner was that the ticket had been bought in Dorset, to help raise awareness of the unclaimed prize in the area. All winners have a right to remain anonymous if they do not wish to go public. If they stay private, it is not even announced whether the ticket belonged to an individual or a syndicate.

The biggest winner in UK lottery history stayed anonymous when they claimed their record £170 million jackpot last October. The £40 million win in December was the seventh jackpot to be won in the country during 2019.

Ticket Sales Suspended in Spain

As European countries battle the spread of coronavirus, the UK National Lottery has stressed that draws will continue as normal. In Spain, however, EuroMillions ticket sales have been suspended due to the outbreak.

With Spain in lockdown, it is currently not possible to purchase entries directly from the lottery operator Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) - both online and in stores. The claim period for receiving prizes has also been suspended in Spain so that winners do not need to worry about going out to collect their money during the state of emergency. There has been no announcement about when sales will resume.

EuroMillions draws take place in Paris, France, every Tuesday and Friday evening. While there are also extreme restrictions on movement in place in France, draws are set to carry on as scheduled at the current time. Take part in the game online to try and become the next big winner.