Lotto winner found in extremis
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5 Nov 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes It’s a story that could have gone untold. A simple forgotten ticket almost deprived its owner of a colossal win. However, thanks to meticulous investigative work by the National Lottery, the winner of €3.5 million has finally been found.
A jackpot that remained a mystery for weeks
When the winning numbers were revealed in the Lotto draw, the size of the jackpot (€3.5 million) quickly attracted attention. However, unlike most of the big winners who turn up in the following days, no one claimed the sum. The winning ticket was nowhere to be found, and neither was its owner.
The National Lottery then realised that the legal deadline for withdrawing the winnings was fast approaching. Generally, players have a set period in which to come forward. Once this period had elapsed, the jackpot reverted to the Lottery fund.
The point-of-sale trail: the start of a discreet investigation
The first step was to find out where the winning ticket had been bought. Thanks to the serial number, the National Lottery team was able to identify the exact point of sale: a local shop in a small, quiet town far from the big cities.
Avoiding any direct media hype was essential to respect the confidentiality and security of the potential winner.
“It was thanks to the performance of the computer systems and the expertise of the National Lottery employees that the winner was found. It’s like a police investigation. The police don’t reveal their research or their modus operandi, because criminals would also have access to it. Here, in the same way, we prefer to remain discreet. Because every time we look for a big Lotto winner, hundreds of people come forward as potential winners,” said a spokesperson. “The idea is for the winner to contact us, as was the case for the €3.5 million. Only then do we inform them personally about their win.”
The winner never thought he’d have a ticket that would change his life. His surprise was immense when he realised that he was the one they had been looking for all this time.
“Without the efforts of the National Lottery, I would never have received this jackpot,” he confides, grateful.