The winner of a $500,000 Lotto prize has been tracked down and handed her money after she lost her ticket.
Lotto said the winner purchased her ticket at Pak’nSave Mt Albert in June last year.
But, after no winner came forward, Lotto recognised the clock was ticking down, as prizes were valid for only 12 months.
The lotteries agency looked for clues on how to track down the winner, which began with checking how the winning ticket was purchased.
“Our only real lead was that the ticket was paid for with an ASB card,” said Lotto NZ head of corporate communications, Will Hine.
“We had electronic details of the transaction but no idea who the card actually belonged to, because that information isn’t visible to retailers.
“We knew ASB would be unable to give us their customer’s details for privacy reasons, so instead asked them to pass on a confidential message to their customer that they might want to contact the Lotto NZ winner’s team.”
Lotto NZ said the bank helped out, and soon after Lotto NZ was contacted by the customer.
The winner asked to remain anonymous, but said she’d had low expectations of winning a prize.
“In the country I grew up in, you would have to have a lottery ticket to claim a prize and I realised I must have lost my one. So I didn’t think we’d get given the prize.”
Lotto NZ called the process of locating the winner “very detailed”, including examining her purchase history.
It found the woman had indeed purchased the ticket, and was able to pay her the $500,000 prize weeks before the expiration date.
Extended family holiday in Queenstown and Rotorua
The winner said herself and her husband planned to use some of the prize money to bring their family members to New Zealand for a holiday.
“We want to take them to see the snow this winter. We think we’ll go to Queenstown and also Rotorua.
“When I got the news about being paid out, I couldn’t sleep,” the winner said. “This money means we can save for a better life for ourselves and our family. We’re incredibly happy.”
Hine said Lotto was pleased with the “fantastic” result for the customer.
“We were absolutely delighted we were able to pay this customer her prize. She was quite emotional when we met up with her and her husband was over the moon as well.
“While any prize money that is unclaimed after 12 months goes back to our wider pool of money for future prize promotions, obviously, we always prefer that it reaches the rightful winner where possible.
“If we get sufficient information that allows us to be sure we’ve found the correct winner, then a prize will be paid.
“We always recommend players write their name on the back of their ticket, in case it’s lost and then found.”
