Top 9 Unclaimed Lottery Tickets: Biggest Unclaimed Lottery Prizes

Many lottery players have been lucky to scoop a big lottery prize. However, a lot of winners have missed out on their massive wins. There have been several cases of big lottery winnings going unclaimed. In this article, we will take a look at the top 9 unclaimed lottery prizes from all over the world.

9 Biggest Unclaimed Lottery Prizes Intro the World

1. EuroMillions – £64 million, Hertfordshire, UK

The biggest unclaimed lottery in the world is a EuroMillions jackpot of £64 million. The EuroMillions ticket was bought in the Stevenage or Hitchin area of Hertfordshire and the draws were held on the 8th of June, 2012.

There were several campaigns for the ticket-holder to come forward and claim their prize. After 180 days, the lottery ticket expired on 5th of December, 2012 with nobody coming forward to claim the prize. The money and the interest it generated was used to fund charities in the UK.

Credit: Lotto Agent

2. Powerball – $77 million, Georgia, US

The ticket was bought Tallapoosa, Georgia, and the Powerball draws took place on the 29th of June, 2011. After 180 days, nobody came forward to claim their massive win of $77 million. This became Georgia’s biggest unclaimed lottery prize till date. The money was returned to the Powerball prize pool to be won in the subsequent draws.

3. Mega Millions – $68 million, New York, US

A lottery player purchased a Mega Millions ticket in Queens, New York, and the draws took place in December, 2002. Unfortunately, they didn’t claim their Mega Millions prize of $68 million within the deadline.

Later, in 2003, a man named Fritzner Bechette laid claims on the prize, stating that he had lost his ticket in a “non-retrievable situation.” He then sued the New York State Lottery. The case was dismissed after investigations revealed that there was no ticket matching Fritzner’s description.

4. SuperLotto Plus – $63 million, California, US

In August 2015, the lucky winner bought their ticket in California but didn’t claim their $63 million SuperLotto Plus prize. The following year, a man named Brandy Milliner, claimed to be the winner. He submitted the ticket but the lottery officials told him that the ticket was badly damaged and therefore cannot receive the prize.

After investigations, lottery officials found that Milliner bought his ticket on a different date and wasn’t for the same draw. In 2017, he maintained in an interview that he was the winner of that prize.

5. Lotto Max – C$70 million, Ontario, Canada

Nobody laid claims on a Lotto Max jackpot prize of C$70 million. This is the biggest unclaimed lottery prize in Canada. The winning ticket was purchased from a retailer in Scarborough, Ontario. Several people claim they were the winner but till date, the rightful winner has not been found.

6. Powerball – $51.7 million, Indiana, US

A ticket holder won the Powerball jackpot prize of $51.7 million for the draws held in September 2003. The initial prize was $103 million, the other half claimed their prize. The Indiana Lottery officials held several campaigns. There was no claim and the ticket eventually expired.

7. Mega Millions – $46 million, New York, US

A ticket holder from Brooklyn, New York missed out on their $46 million Mega Millions jackpot prize for a draw held on 25th of April, 2006. The ticket expired after 180 days with nobody coming forward to claim it.

8. Mega Millions – $44 million, Florida, US

Someone purchased a Mega Millions ticket for the 14th June, 2023 draw but didn’t claim their prize of $44 million within the timeframe. A percentage of the money returned to the state of Florida, while the remaining returned to the Mega Millions pool for subsequent wins.

9. Mega Millions – $36 million, Florida, US

Another person bought a Mega Millions ticket from Jacksonville, Florida, but did not claim their lottery prizes of $36 million. The ticket expired in February 2024.

Why Do Lottery Prizes Go Unclaimed?

Billions of lottery prizes from around the world go unclaimed every year. There are many reasons why this happen and will highlight a few below:

• Lost Ticket: A lot of people can mistakenly toss their ticket in the bin or even a washing machine. If you lose your ticket, there’s no evidence that you played the lottery, therefore you can not claim the prize.
• Damaged Ticket: If a ticket is damaged or defaced, lottery officials will most likely not accept it, so you can not claim your prize.
• Forgot About the Draws: You’d be surprised at how many people buy a ticket and then forget to watch the draws. If you played offline and do not watch the draws, you’ll most likely not know you won the lottery.
• Small Winnings: If the winnings are too small, some players don’t bother to claim them. Also, just because they didn’t win the jackpot, they don’t bother to check if they won smaller prizes.

Conclusion

When you play online, your chances of losing your ticket or forgetting to claim your lottery prize is low. This is because you will receive a scanned version of your ticket and the online lottery agent will immediately notify you of your win via email or SMS. You can then withdraw your winnings through any banking option you prefer, although large winnings have to be claimed in person.

That being said, sign up now to the best online lottery sites to conveniently purchase your tickets and play as many lotteries as you can afford!

Credit: theLotter

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