Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

A lottery jackpot winner who has pocketed a whopping 20 million EUR has been given an extra two months to claim their winnings due to the country’s Coronavirus lockdown.

Local media report the unnamed person won the jackpot of 20 million EUR (17.9 million GBP) on the lottery by choosing the five correct numbers (22, 23, 26, 32, 35) and the lucky number (5) online on 28th March.

In order to claim their winnings, players will have to physically go to a point of sale to validate their ticket if the amount is over 3,000 EUR.

But local media report that they may have to wait a little while before they can collect their winnings, due to the containment measures in France that greatly limit travel.

According to reports, the French lottery organisation La Francaise des Jeux has given winners an extra 60 days, or four months in total, to travel to a point of sale or a payment centre since the announcement of the confinement on 16th March.

Those who registered their tickets between 17th January and 16th March will be given an additional three months, five months in all, to come forward.

According to the website TirageGagnant.com, this is the second biggest win ever on the Internet and the sixth biggest lottery jackpot win since 1976 and the creation of the national lottery.

Reports say the previous maximum win was on Valentine’s Day, 14th February, when someone won 13 million EUR.

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