While the New Jersey Lottery pays out well over $1.8 billion in prize money each year, players lose out on tens of millions more when they fail to claim their winnings.
In just the past eight years, about $317.7 million in payouts have been forfeited by players who fail to cash in their ticket within a year as lottery rules require.
While lottery players are more diligent in some years than others, there's been at least $33.9 million forfeited every year since 2008.
Winners have a year from the date of the drawing to have their ticket validated and claim their prize money. Instant game tickets or scratch-offs expire one year from the announced end of the game.
At least 30 percent of unclaimed prizes must be returned to the state as revenue, according to the New Jersey Lottery. Generally, the "vast majority" is sent back, though, the lottery says. Usually, "far less than 10 percent" is kept in reserve to fund special prizes and promotions.
In fiscal year 2015, the lottery returned about $960 million to the state. That's $5 million less than the year before. The majority — more than $543 million — went to New Jersey's colleges and universities and to fund scholarship programs.
No Mega Millions or Powerball grand prize winners in New Jersey have ever failed to cash in their lucky ticket, according to a New Jersey Lottery spokeswoman.
Why play the lottery of you are lazy and or careless? If they didn't win the top prize they toss the tickets. Many smaller prizes go unclaimed. Mabye it's a good idea to go through the garbage, retrieve the "losing" tickets and cash them.
Love your last sentence. A lady @ the gas station was playing scratchers and an ATM was right next to the lottery machine in Simpsonville, KY. She played many, many tickets. Went to the trash after she left and wouldn't you know I found a $200 winner. Took it to another gas station to cash it in. This guy said 'that's my ticket' as serious as he could be. Said 'No, I found it in the trash @ Pilot'.
OTH NJ has been on a roll for the big lotteries, $2M Powerball Saturday, $1M MM week before and of course the lucky eight from Trenton area.
All states should have a Raffle on January 2nd to raffle off a pot of all their unclaimed prizes from the previous year but we know that will never happen.
New Jersey ! Our fearless and courageous leader Todd Northrop's home. More New Jersey players need to read this post on www.lotterypost.com
Treat your tickets like cash.
Its been suggested before. Seems the States that carry lotteries consider it Unclaimed goods in which they get to keep.
Technically its allocated money that is to go to claims, so yes, give it back to the players in a drawing.
This is New Jersey though...Meh.
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To our host TODD:
What do you think of the above idea? Personally, I like it and think it makes good sense.
But, I'm also afraid, as Mr./Ms. Think says: "It'll never happen."
So, could you advise on how we get get a hold of the National lotto administration to consider this?
If we flood them with emails, we could maybe get the ball rolling.
Thank you,
Mr. Groppo
What National lotto administration? Lord knows we don't need the feds in on any kind of lottery--unless ALL winnings were exempt from the IRS...ain't gonna happen.
I wonder how much of the forfeited money is by people that only play when the jackpots get really high. Otherwise, they never play at all and have no idea what the smaller prizes are. I can't imagine regular P3-P4 players not checking their tickets.
Even when I KNOW I didn't have the winning number, I still check my tickets anyways. Why? Because I could have messed up filling out my play slips.
Perhaps NJ players have become accustomed to winning the Top prizes that anything less is insulting & not worth collecting on.Kinda like in the Olympics, some athletes are so driven for Gold that when they receive Silver, that medal is off their necks before stepping off the podium.
NJ probably isn't the only state that has un-cashed winning tickets.
The same thing must happen in all states that have a lottery.
So far, the 1/3 share ticket holder of the $1.5 billion jackpot from California has not come forward to claim their money.
Another jackpot ticket holder that hasn't come forward yet is for a Mega Millions jackpot of $165 million won on 1/8/2016
What is wrong with these people?
Treat your tickets like cash!
Let the expiration come and go on the big ticket lottery wins and see how much the loser cries for 'their' money. I agree 100% 'What is wrong with these people?'.
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I vow to always treat ALL my lotto tickets, like cash.
I have usamega.com, and lotterypost available on internet.
So, right away, almost everyone, on the next morning, can see if they were possibly the winner of prize 1 or 2.
No excuses. Check your doggone tickets. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THEM!
Don't just shove them down, into your pocket, like some old Wal-mart receipt.
I've also decided to keep my non-winners, in a stack, under the tv. I don't know why, but I do.
Every single one of those tickets has been double-checked.