Lotto sources say unclaimed €8.2m jackpot will be paid

National Lottery sources have confirmed that the unclaimed €8.2 million jackpot from March will be paid.

The franchise has so far declined to explain why the money has been withheld despite the ticket holder coming forward over a month ago.

“The National Lottery never comments on the specifics of the claims procedure to protect both the privacy of the claimant and the security of the National Lottery’s claims process,” it said in a statement.

This has led to speculation that the ticket may be the subject of a dispute within a syndicate or a family.

Under lotto rules, the winner has 90 days to collect the money, giving them until June 3rd to collect the prize.

As operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland has a right to withhold payment if it feels the claims procedure has not been carried out correctly or if it believes the ticket itself has been tampered with.

The €20 ticket, with numbers chosen voluntarily rather than through a quickpick, was purchased at a store in Sligo town.

The National Lottery confirmed it was continuing to engage with the ticketholder.

“As is standard practice, any claimant has 90 days in which to claim their prize and we are continuing to engage with the ticketholder,”it said.

“In line with our normal policy, we will not be issuing further comment until the prize has been collected,” it added.