A lottery winner in Germany, who left 11,3 million euros unclaimed for three years, has failed to collect their prize before the deadline on 31 December, 2020.

The money will be put back into the coffers

Lottery winners in Germany usually have three years to come forward and collect their winnings, before they get put back into a pot for special draws. These special draws allow players across the rest of the country to win other, smaller prizes, such as cars, or cash sums. 

Despite many calls for the winner to come forward, and widespread news coverage aimed at finding the lucky ticket holder, a claim never materialised. This is the first time such a large amount of money has gone unclaimed in the south west. 

Reason German winner did not collect unknown

Even more frustratingly, the 11.300.36- euro prize would have been completely free from taxation, had the winner collected it on time. Up until 2016, winners only had 13 weeks to collect any money won from lotteries; however this was recently extended to three years. 

Despite this, the winner, who was likely from Reutlingen near Stuttgart, did not collect their winnings on time. The reason the winner failed to collect is currently unknown.