What happens if a Powerball jackpot winner doesn’t claim the prize?

Powerball jackpots have been reaching stratospheric levels, three within the past twelve months have gone into the ten-digit range. While many of us ask ourselves “What would I do if I won the lottery?”, it isn’t exactly a sum of money that anyone in their wildest dreams could truly imagine landing in their lap in one fallow swoop.

That could explain why recent winners have taken their sweet time to come forward to claim the billion-dollar jackpots. Edwin Castro, who in November 2022 had the winning ticket to the biggest Powerball prize ever, well the biggest prize of any lottery, waited three months before claiming the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

The Californian isn’t alone- another winner from the Golden State has yet to claim the $1.08 billion prize from the 19 July drawing this year.

Lottery officials are also waiting for the owner of an unclaimed ticket bought in November last year at a 7-Eleven store in Aurora, Illinois, to come forward and claim their $100,000 prize. Officials say if this person doesn’t show up by Nov. 6, they can say goodbye to their fortune.

There are numerous stories of people losing their winning lottery tickets and then finding them again. But how long do you have to search high and low for your winning Powerball ticket before you can no longer claim the prize?

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How long and how do you have to claim a Powerball prize?

All state lotteries have expiration dates for when a prize can be claimed and they vary from state to state. They range from 90 days to a full year from the date of the drawing. Normally, players can find an expiration date on the ticket, otherwise you can check with the state lottery agency.

The prize money must be claimed in the lottery jurisdiction where you bought the lottery ticket. There are no restrictions around having to reside in a lottery jurisdiction in order to play. That means that even non-citizens can participate via online state lottery vendors or if you’re on holiday somewhere you can still buy a ticket there.

However, should you beat the 292.2 million to one odds and hit the jackpot, getting your hands on the cash may require making a trip to the state where you bought the ticket.

Claiming prizes under $600 is a pretty simple process. You can stop by any lottery retailer, in the jurisdiction that you bought the ticket, and get cash in hand. Or you can mail the ticket to the Lottery Commission of the jurisdiction where you bought the ticket, just keep a paper trail! The state and the postal service are not responsible for lost or damaged lottery tickets in transit.

For sums above that amount your options become more limited, check with the state lottery office in the jurisdiction where you bought the ticket. However, if you win the jackpot you’ll need to get it yourself in person at the state lottery headquarters.

What happens if a Powerball jackpot winner doesn’t claim the prize?

Oops! You lost the ticket or forgot about it and time has expired. Kiss the winnings goodbye. If it is any consolation you wouldn’t be the first. There was an instance back in April 2022, when a lucky/unlucky player in California lost out on $2.2 million after the winning ticket expired.

But what happens to the money? Tough luck for you, but the states that participate in the Powerball lottery will graciously accept your donation to their coffers. The prize money will be divided up proportionally among the different lottery jurisdictions depending on the percentage of ticket sales in each during the run-up to the winning drawing.

Each state has their own rules about what they do with the windfall. “C’est la vie!”