Almost every month in England and other countries there are urgent calls for people to check their lottery tickets. Time and time again prizes go unclaimed. Deadlines to step forward expire and the funds are redistributed. But what are the reasons for people not claiming their funds?

First up, absentmindedness can be a contributing factor. If people are not entirely invested in the entry and might have just done so as a one-off instead and ongoing practice, they might simply forget that they entered.

The draw and eventual deadline could come and go and the person who entered ‘just this once’ would be none the wiser. Of course, those who enter the lottery often, a few times a week even, are not likely to let this happen.

Then, there’s the cold, sad truth that lottery tickets get misplaced or lost. It doesn’t happen on purpose. Sometimes it’s nobody’s fault, but those priceless pieces of paper go missing. There are measures to put in place to avoid this of course, but now and then tickets fall from pockets, accidentally get put in with the laundry and other mistaken actions that make them irretrievable.

It hopefully goes without saying that these tickets should immediately be stored in a place of safekeeping. Whether it’s a week or a day to wait before it’s time to check the numbers on the tickets, make sure it’s somewhere very safe in the interim.

Another big cause of lottery prizes going unclaimed is that, if people didn’t match all the numbers correctly and didn’t win the jackpot, they don’t bother to see if their digits featured in any of the lower prizes. While it’s not jackpot amounts, there is often still plenty to be one in the lower tiers. Even getting just two digits correct can see you finish in money.

Naturally, the more numbers you get right, the higher the prize. Five digits could fetch a person a decent sum, indeed. But unfortunately, to reiterate, it’s common practice among a lot of people who enter the lottery not to check the tiers below the jackpot. Hopefully, with awareness and practice, this will change in time.

The benefit of betting on the lottery results with Lottoland can help avoid all the aforementioned potential mistakes. With Lottoland, you get an email and phone call to notify you if you won. Because the entry is online, there is no need for a physical ticket, which can get lost. Your entry is recorded digitally.

At last count, there were five big EuroMillions prizes that hadn’t yet been claimed this year. From Doncaster and London Borough of Ealing to the Hinckley and Bosworth District and Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale – and elsewhere – EuroMillions millions were going unclaimed. There were a few more Lotto and Set For Life examples of unclaimed prizes as well. These are all very avoidable if some simple measures are put in place. It’s not a hang of a lot to ask of yourself in order to miss a possibly pricey error.