As you have understood how to win the lotto, do you know how long before lotto tickets expire?
Well, if you just won a big jackpot on a Powerball or a Mega Millions drawing, the possibilities are that you will be cashing that ticket in as soon as possible. You probably have no idea of the possible expiration date.
However, what if you just won a big prize or found an old lottery scratch underneath your car seat? Are you still able to redeem unclaimed prize money? Here is everything you need to figure out.
How Long Before Lotto Tickets Expire Actually?
Let’s figure out how long before lotto tickets expire. The life-changing amount of money you are able to win from playing the lottery is long-lasting (as long as you can manage your money).
However, the winning lottery scratches themselves are not. Each participating state is going to run its own lottery, so the amount of time each state allows you to redeem a ticket before it expires varies.
However, the National Powerball lottery sets a 180-day expiration date from the draw for the lottery winner to make a prize claim. Therefore, take your Powerball scratches in and get paid as soon as possible.
On the other hand for the Mega Millions, the ticket expiration dates are between 90 days and an entire year, depending on the gambler’s jurisdiction. The simplest way to figure out how long before lotto tickets expire is just to check the lottery website of the state you are playing in.
Most winners don’t take that long to claim their jackpot. With that said, there have been many conditions when winning prizes have gone unclaimed. The two cases which went unclaimed are a $77 million Powerball prize in Georgia and a $68 million Mega Millions ticket in New York.
Lottery tickets are the same as Mega Millions in that they have to be postmarked and received by the Lotter Offices or be redeemed at a lottery retailer within 90 to 180 days of the announced end date of the game.
Is There a Way to Claim Prize Even If You are Late?
After you discover how long before lotto tickets expire and wondering if you can still claim it despite being past the expiration date, the answer is generally no, but there are 3 exceptions and alternatives to consider. The basic rule is that once a lottery scratch has expired, it is no longer valid for claiming a prize.
Of course, that is a strict policy for most lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions. The expiration dates are required to ensure a smooth operation of the lottery system and timely distribution of prizes, including to the advantageous programs funded by the lottery revenues. However, there are 3 special cases and alternatives:
1. Second-Chance Drawings
Many lotteries offer second-chance drawings, where how long before lotto tickets expire can be entered for a chance to win. These drawings offer tickets that didn’t win in the first draw a new chance for a prize. The availability and rules of these drawings vary by the state and lottery game.
2. Special Cases
In very rare cases of how long before lotto tickets expire, the lotteries might extend the claim period for winners who have extenuating cases that prevented them from claiming their jackpot in time. However, this is highly uncommon and generally needs substantial proof to support the claim.
3. The Charitable Donation
If your ticket is expired and excluded for any second-chance games, consider it as a missed chance but also as a contribution to the number charitable and social causes that lotteries support. The lottery revenues are often fun for park services, education, and other community projects.
How to Check the Lottery Tickets?
To know how long before lotto tickets expire, you can check them online. Shortly after the draw has taken place you can find the lottery results, your lottery winning and if your lottery scratchers have expired. Checking your lottery card is quick and easy, and can be done at any time.
Keep in mind to always check your lottery tickets to see if you have won. You can check your lottery tickets by logging in into your account, navigate to the top of the page to the “My Account” section. After that, you can go to the “Your Transactions” tab, where you are allowed to check all the lottery tickets you have purchased in the past.
Moreover, you can check your lottery tickets online for any past or recent draws using any of the best e-wallet Casino Malaysia, Giant Lottos included. Make sure to check your tickets just after the official draw has taken place.
How Can You Claim the Lottery Prizes?
After knowing how long before lotto tickets expire, claiming your reward is a piece of cake. Claiming your jackpot varies based on how much money you win.
Winning $599 and Below
If you win a jackpot on a Mega Millions ticket, you can scratch-off, or anything that calculates to $599 or less. You are able to take your ticket to a lottery retailer to get your money. It will not need to be the similar place where you originally bought the ticket, it just needs to be any location that sells and redeems the lottery scratches.
Winning above $600
After knowing how long before lotto tickets expire and you win anything calculating to $600 or more, kudos! You will have to field a claim form for any prize worth over this amount. You can download the form online. There are two different claim forms based on whether you are claiming the prize as a group or you are claiming independently.
The reason why you need to file a claim form is because of the taxes. While each state differs, most of them will charge income tax on lottery prizes over $5,000.
Moreover, the tax withholding rate varies based on your tax bracket, however, you can expect to pay anywhere from 24% – 40% back in taxes before you get the rest of your prizes.
Conclusion
For the question how long before lotto tickets expire, it actually depends on the state’s laws, however, generally can be redeemable for anywhere between 90 days to 180 days.
Yes, if you win big, we will not recommend you to wait long to claim it. Based on how much money you win, you can claim your jackpot in person at a lottery retailer or at the Lottery District Office.