The mystery winner of a $200,000 Lotto prize has only six weeks left to claim the money before the ticket expires and is no longer available. 

Lotto has put out a final call for the owner of a ticket purchased at Coastlands Lotto in Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast nearly a year ago to come forward. 

The draw was held on 31 August 2024 and expires 12 months from that date, giving the winner until the end of August this year to claim the money. 

“We’re still hopeful that the player will come forward and we can reunite them with their prize in time, but the ticket expiry date is looming” Lotto’s Will Hine said. 

Hine said the ticket, a Triple Dip, was purchased during a Father’s Day promotion and could have been given away as a gift. 

“Maybe that rings a bell for someone who got given a ticket, gave away a ticket, or even just bought themselves a Triple Dip about that time last year,” Hine said. 

Paraparaumu Beach. Photo / David Haxton. 

He is urging those with old tickets to check them now and search for places stray tickets could be including drawers, glove boxes, wallets, and pockets of clothes not worn for a while. 

The winning draw saw five people share the $1m First Division prize. 

All other players have claimed their share, three from Auckland and one playing online from Whanganui. 

Once the 12 months is up, the $200,000 cannot be claimed and the money is returned to Lotto’s prize pool. 

On average, Lotto said around $10 million in prizes goes unclaimed each year which equates to around 1% of the total amount given away. 

In April, a Pāpāmoa couple ended up $500,000 richer after an article about an unclaimed Lotto prize prompted them to check their stashed tickets.