Good causes hit the jackpot as ticket holder loses out on £68m.
DaGoaty
The failure of a Lottery ticket holder to step forward and claim their £68.3m winnings will mean a windfall of almost £13m for the arts. The unclaimed prize money will be added to the National Lottery Good Causes fund and reapportioned in line with government guidelines, meaning the arts will get their stipulated 20%. The unclaimed EuroMillions ticket was bought in the Stevenage and Hitchin area on 8 June this year, but the ticket holder failed to claim their prize within the 180 day limit, despite efforts to find them. Arts Council England (ACE) welcomed the news but emphasised that Lottery money is not meant to take the place of Government funding: “Lottery funds are intended to fund the new, the exceptional, the additional – just like income from, for example, philanthropy – not to cover the core costs of running arts and cultural organisations.” Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of Wales and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland also act as distributors for arts Lottery money in the UK.