$40-million Lotto Max ticket validated in Ontario hours before it was due to expire
A winning $40-million Lotto Max ticket sold in Grey County, Ontario, was validated on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, only hours before it was set to expire at midnight. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) said the ticket was scanned at an OLG lottery terminal at an authorized lottery retailer and registered as the jackpot winner from the October 28, 2025 draw.
The prize has not been paid out. OLG said it has contacted the person or people who validated the ticket and will meet with them to determine whether they are its rightful owners, a review the corporation applies to every prize claim over $1,000.
A year-old jackpot scanned at the deadline
The ticket matched all seven numbers in the October 28, 2025 Lotto Max draw, according to OLG. The winning numbers were 06, 14, 17, 19, 26, 43 and 45, with bonus number 27, as reported by Global News.
Lotto Max players have one year from the draw date to claim a prize, which put the deadline at the end of the day on October 28, 2026. In the days before that deadline, OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti said by email that customers would lose both the chance to validate the ticket and the chance to file a claim for a lost ticket once the day ended. He added that players using the corporation’s online form could submit a claim right up until midnight.
On the Monday before the deadline, Bitonti said the ticket had still not been scanned, either in-store or through the OLG app, according to insauga.
OLG announced the validation on Wednesday afternoon.
OLG review of rightful ownership
In its October 28 update, OLG said it holds very detailed information about the winning ticket. Because the ticket was bought at a retailer, however, the corporation does not know the identity of the person or group who purchased it.
Bitonti told Global News that details about the ticket are being kept confidential, since that information will be used to test whether the people who validated it are in fact the owners. OLG had said that approximately 50 claims related to the ticket were being processed before the deadline. The corporation has not said how those claims relate to the person or people who scanned the ticket on Wednesday, and no outlet has reported a link between them.
The BBC reported that OLG did not identify the winner by name.
If rightful ownership is established, OLG said it will hold a winner celebration and share the winner’s story with the media and the public as part of its disclosure process. Until then, the corporation said, it will take the time needed to complete the review.
Where the ticket was sold and what was at stake
The ticket was sold at an authorized lottery retailer somewhere in Grey County, a region that includes Owen Sound, Meaford, The Blue Mountains, Flesherton, Markdale, Durham and Hanover. Ahead of the deadline, OLG had urged anyone who bought a Lotto Max ticket in the county, or who visited the area around the time of the draw, to check their tickets.
Had the ticket expired unclaimed, OLG said the $40 million would have been returned to players through future bonus games or promotions.
For Ontario players, the episode is a plain reminder of how the claim window works. The one-year limit runs from the draw date rather than the purchase date, and a ticket left in a drawer past that point cannot be redeemed, whatever its value. OLG directs anyone who thinks they hold an unclaimed prize to the Unclaimed Tickets page on OLG.ca or to its line at 1-800-387-0098.
