Italian lottery player throws away winning ticket – and gets it back through garbage collection

Background: How the lottery ticket ended up in the trash

Employees of SANB then began searching through the already disposed waste on the assumption that the lottery ticket might still be in one of the bins or containers. The search dragged on for several hours.

As AFP further reported, citing the city of Bitonto, the hours-long search through the garbage was not free of charge for the lottery player. SANB charged a fee for the operation, the exact amount of which is not clear from the available reports.

Roberto Nicola Toscano, a representative of the disposal company, explained according to AFP that the employees had specifically searched the affected area of the waste for the lottery ticket. According to him, the ticket eventually turned up in the rummaged-through pile of garbage.

The search: Hours in the garbage

After its recovery, the lottery ticket was handed over to a lottery branch, which is to verify the winning claim. According to the reports, the woman hopes to actually receive the million-euro amount now.

The incident has sparked a broad debate in Italy about how lottery players handle their tickets and how one can protect against accidentally throwing them away. Media outlets in Apulia picked up the story with headlines about an "extraordinary rescue."

According to the reports, the winnings are now to be delivered through the responsible lottery branch as soon as the verification is completed. Until then, the exact payout amount remains officially unconfirmed.

Reactions in Italy and from the city

Bitonto is a small town in the greater Bari area with about 50,000 inhabitants. The city is considered rather unremarkable, which is why the spectacular find of the lottery ticket attracted attention throughout the region.

The case is reminiscent of earlier incidents in which lottery winnings were lost because tickets were misplaced, washed, or crumpled. In Italy, the state lottery company manages the draws and payouts.

Media outlets such as La Repubblica and local news portals consistently reported that the SANB employees were explicitly praised for their efforts. The city administration of Bitonto also thanked them for the unusual operation.

It initially remained unclear whether the woman would have to bear additional costs beyond the fee for the garbage search. Official statements from the city of Bitonto or SANB on this were not available by evening.

The president of SANB, Roberto Nicola Toscano, spoke according to AFP of an "Erfolg" for the company, which had succeeded in recovering the lottery ticket.

Outlook: Payout to the winner

According to the available reports, the story ended positively: the woman was able to get her lottery ticket back and, once the review is completed, will be able to receive her winnings.

For the waste disposal service of Bitonto, the operation remains a special anecdote that has now spread through numerous Italian media and, via AFP, internationally as well.