The person purporting to have the winning ticket to an unclaimed €8.2 million lotto jackpot from March has criticised the National Lottery for disclosing details of the case to the media, suggesting its actions may need to be examined by the regulator.
In a solicitor's letter, lawyers for the individual claim the actions of the operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), in revealing the jackpot had not been paid and that it was engaging with the ticketholder had "fuelled speculation and rumour" as to the identity of the winner and the reasons for non-payment.
“Our client is disappointed that PLI, the licensed operator of the National Lottery has seen fit to make any comments about this matter since our client presented to them and made it clear from the outset that confidentiality and anonymity was required,” the letter said.
The €20 winning ticket, with numbers chosen voluntarily rather than through a quickpick, was purchased at a store in Sligo town.
The letter claimed that much of the speculation about the reasons for non-payment centred on the possibility of a dispute within a syndicate.
“We can state that such claims are incorrect. There is no syndicate and there is no dispute. There never has been any dispute between the winner and any other third party,” the letter said.
Lawyers for the individual said their client presented the winning ticket at the lottery’s Dublin headquarters several weeks ago but “due to the failure of the licensed operator to immediately sanction payment we were subsequently instructed to discreetly negotiate a resolution of the matter.”
The letter did not disclose the reason for the money not being paid, noting only: “The licensed operator raised a concern it had which has been addressed by us.”
“It has always been our client’s contention that there was not any valid reason why PLI, the licensed operator, would be unable to pay out to them on this winning ticket,” it said.
Following negotiations and a "contemplation" of High Court action, lawyers for the individual said: "We are now satisfied that the matter has been largely resolved with a recent commitment in writing from the licensed operator to pay out on the ticket to our client the principal sum together with appropriate interest in due course when routine logistics are finalised."
In the letter, lawyers also suggest the actions of the operator may be a matter “that the regulator should give some guidance on for future reference in order to avoid this type of maelstrom of speculation in respect of future winners”.
Lottery sources have confirmed to The Irish Times that the money would be paid while declining to reveal the issue involved.
In a statement on Thursday, PLI said: “The National Lottery at all times works to ensure due process in our claims’ procedure, in accordance with our statutory and regulatory obligations.”
“As has always been the case, the National Lottery never comments on the specifics of individual claims to protect the privacy of the claimant,” it added.
Under lottery rules, the winner has 90 days to collect the money, giving them until June 3rd to collect the prize.
As operator, PLI 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.
