A winner has come forward to claim a C$40 million (£21.4 million) Lotto Max prize just hours before the ticket was set to expire, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).
Tony Bitonti, OLG's director of media relations, told the BBC the ticket was validated through a lottery terminal. The ticket had been set to expire at midnight on Wednesday.
OLG had been searching for the owner of the ticket, which was bought on 28 October 2025 at a retailer in Grey County, Ontario. Almost a year passed before the claim.
OLG did not name the winner. The corporation said it had contacted the claimant to confirm they were the rightful owner. "If the rightful ownership is determined, then OLG will hold a winner celebration and share their story with the media and the public as part of our winner disclosure process," the company said in a statement.
Bitonti told CTV News earlier on Wednesday that the ticket had not been checked on the OLG app or at the store. The lottery had urged players to check pockets, handbags, wallets and vehicle glove compartments for the ticket.
If the ticket had expired, OLG would have kept the prize for future games. About one per cent of prizes each year go unclaimed, Bitonti said, usually smaller wins. In June 2022, a $70 million Lotto Max jackpot sold in Scarborough, Ontario, was never claimed.