April 6th, 2011
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Author: Some $45 million in lotto winnings went unclaimed in Wisconsin between 1997 and 2010, according to an investigation by the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper.
To be more precise, winners missed out on $44,852,936 in prizes between July 1, 1997, and June 30, 2010. Winners of Wisconsin Lottery drawings have 180 days to collect, otherwise their winning tickets are voided.
Their losses are the property owner’s boon, however: Uncollected winnings are funneled into the state lottery’s property tax relief fund. In 2010, the property taxpayer’s average credit was $82, according to the state Department of Revenue.
It appears, according to the Northwestern story, that many players of the Powerball, MegaMillions, Supercash, Megabuck and Badger Five games don’t realize they could be eligible for smaller prizes if their tickets match some of the numbers but not all of them.
About $3 million in winnings go unclaimed every year. The largest unclaimed prize in recent memory was a $1 million Powerball ticket sold in Racine County in 2009.
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