Rs 1,25,00,00,000 Lottery Winner Goes Missing In Australia Before Claiming Jackpot, Search On
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A mystery Oz Lotto ticket-holder won Rs 1.25 billion but despite nationwide publicity, more than 38 hours after the draw, there is still no trace of the lucky player
Officials have urged ticket buyers to check their numbers. (Representational Image)
In what has become one of Australia’s most puzzling lottery sagas, officials are frantically searching for a mystery ticket-holder who won a staggering $15 million (approximately Rs 1.25 billion) in the Oz Lotto draw earlier this week, but has yet to come forward.
The jackpot, drawn on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, belonged to Draw No. 1651, and the winning ticket was sold at Greenhills Newsagency in the Stockland Shopping Centre at East Maitland, located in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. Despite nationwide publicity, more than 38 hours after the draw, there is still no trace of the lucky player.
The winning numbers were 44, 46, 39, 34, 7, 15, and 3, with supplementary numbers 24, 19, and 13. Officials at The Lott, the operator of Australia’s official lotteries, confirmed that the ticket was not registered with The Lott Members Club, meaning there is no way to contact the winner directly.
“This is our biggest ever jackpot,” said Tierna Perry, a staff member at the Greenhills Newsagency. “We’ve sold winning tickets before, but nothing even close to this. We just hope the person realises soon that they’re the new millionaire everyone’s talking about.”
The Lott spokesperson Khat McIntyre said the situation had left the team astonished. “It’s incredible to think that someone could be walking around, maybe still going to work today, not knowing they have $15 million sitting in their pocket,” she remarked, adding, “We urge anyone who purchased a ticket from East Maitland to check and re-check their numbers.”
Authorities are now reviewing CCTV footage from the store to trace who may have purchased the winning ticket. If the ticket has been misplaced, the winner still has six years to lodge a claim under New South Wales lottery laws. However, if unclaimed, the prize money will revert to the state treasury.
This isn’t an isolated case. In June 2025, another colossal $100 million Powerball jackpot, Australia’s third-largest ever, also went unclaimed, adding to a growing list of uncollected fortunes.
Matt Hart, a senior official with The Lott, noted that it’s extremely rare for such massive prizes to go unnoticed. “In most cases, winners claim their prizes within hours. When they don’t, it leaves everyone wondering what could have happened,” he said.
According to official data, 326 Division One wins have been recorded in 2025 so far, 92 of them in New South Wales. Earlier this year, a woman from Elizabeth Hills claimed a $100 million Oz Lotto jackpot, proving that sometimes, fortune truly favours the alert.
October 10, 2025, 18:29 IST
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