Somewhere, Someone Lost $1 Million by Not Claiming Their Winning Lottery Ticket

People who won playing the Michigan Lottery failed to claim $62.7 million in prize money in 2013 and 2014. In any given year, roughly 20 percent of the prize money available goes unclaimed. The state awarded $1.6 billion in 2014, as records were being set for the number of lottery tickets sold.

The expiration dates on when prizes can be claimed varies from game to game and is mentioned on the lottery tickets. Generally, prizes have to be claimed within a year or in some cases two years or the money goes to the state. When a $1 million “Mega Millions” game ticket bought in August 2014 in Grand Rapids went unclaimed for one year, the money was deposited into the state’s School Aid Fund.

According to a CNN report, unclaimed lottery winnings across the country total around $2 billion annually, and in 2013 more than 300 individuals failed to claim prizes of $1 million and up.