Hunt on for owner of $76m OzLotto ticket

Whoever claims the prize will be known as the largest single lotto winner in Australian history. Photo / Thinkstock

Queenslanders are frantically checking their lottery tickets as the hunt continues for Australia's newest multi-millionaire.

Somewhere in the nation, someone is holding a ticket worth A$70 million ($76 million).

And it's likely to be a Queenslander, with the ticket sold somewhere in the Sunshine State.

Whoever claims the prize will go down in history as the largest single lotto winner in Australia.

An OzLotto spokeswoman says the winner, whoever he or she is, could well be holding the most valuable piece of paper in Australia right now.

"We've had reports of lines outside newsagents when they opened about 6am," she said. "And people are jumping online to see if they might be the one."

"We've had jackpots higher than $70 million before, but we've never had one of those go to a single entry," the spokeswoman said.

"The odds are incredible. We would have seen about one third of the adult population buy an entry."

As the wait for the winner continues, OzLotto says the winner could still claim the prize even if the ticket ended up in the wash or the bin.

"If an unregistered ticket is damaged or destroyed, there's still a way to claim the prize. It just takes longer. We have to investigate to see if the winner can say where and when they purchased the ticket, that sort of thing."

- AAP