A New South Wales mother has claimed a $1 million prize nearly two years after the lottery was drawn.
The Lake Macquarie resident came forward to claim her win yesterday morning for the division one winning entry, which was drawn nationally on July 12, 2021.
The ticket was unregistered, meaning officials had not way of contacting the Mount Hutton woman.
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She said she had held onto the ticket this entire time.
"I thought I'd check it on Monday, and I was blown away," the mystery winner said.
"I can't wait to help my family, and most importantly, my kids," she said.
"It's very exciting, the prize will truly go a long way."
The Lott said there were currently 22 unclaimed division one and major lottery prizes across Australia worth $16,270,374.35.
Twelve are unclaimed prizes in New South Wales, nine in Queensland and one in Victoria.
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Each state has different laws surrounding the time prizes are permitted to be claimed.
In NSW ticket holders have six years to claim their prize but in Victoria winners only have six months.
The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell encouraged all Aussies to check old tickets, or any places that might have tickets lying around, hiding in the car glovebox or in old shopping bags.
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"These winning tickets were not registered to a player card or an online account, so we have no way of identifying or contacting the mystery winners to unite them with their prize," Hobdell said.
"It's an important reminder to always register tickets to an online account or players club card, so if you do happen to win division one, we can reveal the life-changing news straight after the draw."
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