Lottery Tickets

[Ric.ror]

Just wondering - can a winning ticket be traced by the place they bought the ticket and, if it was a place with CCTV would that not also help identify a winner if they had lost their ticket?

I am not expecting a win BTW - just interested

[Mamyalynne]

Yes, the ticket can be traced to the terminal that printed it.

[Davemano]

Camelot know where all tickets are bought through the individual serial numbers.

[Togo]

I think Ric. that in the past, the true purchaser of a winning ticket, was once proven using CCTV after a dispute over the ownership.

[ummmm]

Togo is correct. I winning ticket was accidentally dropped and they traced the person who picked it using CCTV. I think Camelot took them to court...

[Eve]

I've seen articles in local media when they have tried to trace a ticketholder who has won big but the prize hasn't been claimed and may be about to expire. They usually just give a general area though and encourage people to check their tickets.

[Buenchico]

Each ticket can be traced to the shop where it was bought but Camelot deliberately don't name that shop when seeking to trace a winner, as to do so could infringe upon their right to privacy.

CCTV recordings can't be used, as that would infringe the Data Protection Act.

http://blog.national-lottery.co.uk/find-missing-winners

[Peter Pedant]

It is worth reading BC's link -
if fraud is suspected then CCTV could be used

There was a good Judge Judy prog where CCTV was used to disprove the punter's claim he had sauntered over to his car all ladi-daaah - in fact he ran like a jet powered bunny rabbit and roared off and this was because he realised he had been overpaid ( $10k rather than $1k