The ongoing mystery of an unclaimed $64 million lottery ticket: The clock is ticking

As the one-year expiry date looms closer, the largest lottery win in Atlantic Canadian history is still yet to be paired with its rightful owner.

On April 15, 2023, Atlantic Lottery drew a winner for their $64 million Gold Ball jackpot and determined the ticket was purchased in Gloucester County, N.B. But as months passed and calls for the winner to come forward persisted, nothing but silence has been heard from the unidentified ticketholder.

Molly Cormier, director of communications at Atlantic Lottery, said the gaming company hasn’t heard from anyone despite ongoing efforts to create public awareness on the win.

“We’re very hopeful that we’ll still get to meet the winner and give them their $64 million prize,” she said in an interview on Friday.

“This process is working the way that it should in that there’s 12 months built in, in case someone does choose to take that time to wait and come forward. We’re just letting that play out and we’re still hopeful that we’ll get to meet the winner.”

Despite rumours circulating about who the winner is and why they’re yet to claim their prize, Cormier said the reality of the situation remains — no one has presented themselves with the winning ticket.

Gloucester County, the area where the ticket was purchased, is located in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick and is home to several municipalities and one First Nations reserve.

The county’s total population is about 80,000, with the city of Bathurst having the largest portion of people.

For privacy and security reasons, Atlantic Lottery doesn’t publicize the town or store where the winning ticket was purchased until the winner comes forward.

If nothing changes by the time April rolls around, the $64 million amount will be delegated toward an “unclaimed prize fund” and will get redistributed in the forms of bonus prizes and additional draws.

“There’s a few months left, so we are really being positive and hopeful that we’ll get to meet the winner,” Cormier said, adding that the largest-ever lottery win in Atlantic Canada could quickly become the largest unclaimed lottery win in the region’s history if the winner isn’t identified by April 15.

She said that she’s watched prizes go unclaimed in the past, but nothing of this magnitude in the Maritimes.

“People do sometimes choose to call in or claim their prize later in that year period,” she continued. “Paying out prizes is the most important thing that Atlantic Lottery does, so we’re hoping to be able to do that for that winner.”

If no one comes forward, the $64 million lottery ticket would certainly be one of the highest unclaimed amounts in all of Canadian history — but it won’t hold the record. In August, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation said a $70M Lotto Max jackpot had been “officially declared unclaimed.”

“If you have the winning ticket and think you have those matching numbers for the Gold Ball jackpot, you can call our customer care centre and we’ll make sure to make an appointment for you to be able to get processed,” Cormier said.

“We will be very happy to take their call or to greet them at the door at our Moncton head office and be able to pay them their prize and celebrate their win together. I know Atlantic Canadians are very interested and hopeful that this person will come forward as well.”

The Atlantic Lottery website indicates that the winning numbers for the April 15 Gold Ball draw are: 93331474-01.

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