Could a trashed lottery ticket still be worth £12 million?

A routine lottery ticket check has turned into every player's worst nightmare. A woman in the United Kingdom believes she won a £12 million National Lottery jackpot, but says the ticket was accidentally thrown away after it was mistakenly declared a loser at a local shop. Now, the lottery operator is investigating whether she could still claim the life-changing jackpot despite the missing ticket.

Playing the same numbers for 20 years?

In the U.K., Kath Main, 46, noticed that no one had come forward to claim the £12 million National Lottery jackpot. When checking the winning numbers — 8, 10, 26, 30, 35, and 42 — she soon realized that those winning numbers matched hers, but there was a catch.

Kath has been playing the same numbers for 20 years, but her mother gets the tickets for her. She called her mother, Fiona, to make sure she had gotten a lottery ticket that week. Fiona said she did, but when the ticket was checked at a Londis in Abercynon, South Wales, it was not a winner.

So, what happened at the lottery retailer? That is what Allwyn, the National Lottery operator, is now investigating.

Kath's side of the story

Kath talked to The Sun about the situation. She said she saw the winning numbers, so she called her mother: “I rang my mother and said, 'You did put the lottery on?' and she said, 'Yeah.'”

Kath added, “I said, 'Well, we've won the lottery,' and she (her mom) said, 'I checked, and there was [were] no winners.' I said, 'No, it's a winner; we've won.' She said, 'How much?' and I said, '£12m.' She said, 'It can't be; the ticket's in the bin.'”

Her heart must have sunk, but her mother said the machine did not beep when the ticket was checked, and nothing came up on the screen. Kath said, “He told me, 'There are no winners; do you want them back?' And I said, if there are no winners, then put them in the bin.”

Now the ticket is gone, but hope isn't

After the mother and daughter finally worked out their blunder, it was too late. The bins at the store had already been emptied.

Kath has since addressed the issue with Allwyn, who said it was “highly unlikely” to be a machine error but more likely a human error. As it just so happens to be, the Londis where the ticket was checked has no CCTV because it's being renovated.

Karan Kumar, the owner of the store, said, “The machine could have been playing up. Now they are doing an investigation. It would be amazing if she won.”

An investigation is taking place

Allwyn has confirmed that an investigation is being conducted. They did state the National Lottery is “the only major lottery that allows players to claim a prize if a winning ticket has been lost, stolen, or destroyed.”

That means Kath does still have hope, but she said, “I just feel sick all the time; it's the not knowing and waiting.” That wait could take up to 30 days as Allwyn decides whether she won or not.

Kath added:

I'm the unluckiest person to win the lottery because I don't have the money. I'm trying not to think about what I'd do with the money in case I don't get it.

However, she has thought about it, as she admitted she would go to New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions tour in 2029.

While she waits for a determination, she does have only 180 days to make a claim on the money, or the money will go unclaimed and be put towards National Lottery-funded projects.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.