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Expiring fortunes: Unclaimed $36 million lottery ticket in Florida

A U.S. lottery participant forfeited a $36 million prize due to the expiration of the mandated timeframe for filing legitimate claims.

SymClub
Aug 23, 2024
2 min read
Newsonlinecasinos Germany
The substantial $36 million lottery reward, equivalent to €33.17 million, went unclaimed in...
The substantial $36 million lottery reward, equivalent to €33.17 million, went unclaimed in Florida, United States, as it surpassed the 180-day claim period without being claimed.

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Unclaimed Mega Millions Fortune in Florida

Expiring fortunes: Unclaimed $36 million lottery ticket in Florida

In the sunshine state of Florida, USA, an individual has missed out on a monumental lottery fortune. Notifying the Suddeutsche Zeitung, the expiration of the prize was a result of the winner failing to submit their claim within the allotted 180-day timeframe.

The winning Mega Millions ticket was bought from a supermarket located in Jacksonville. The lucky player correctly guessed the winning combination of numbers: 8, 39, 42, 57, 63, and a bonus number 7. The Florida lottery has confirmed that the probability of winning the Mega Millions jackpot stands at one in 320 million.

The Problem of Expired Lottery Winnings in Germany

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence, as confirmed by a German publishing from Die Tageszeitung, stating that several high-value lottery tickets have gone unclaimed in the past. Although official statistics related to this matter are not available, there are some cases where the winnings were passed onto charitable causes.

In April 2017, a losing ticket valued at €11.3 million from the 6 aus 49 lottery in Baden-Württemberg was never claimed. Despite posters being distributed to notify the winner, no one came forward, resulting in the expiration of the prize despite a three-year deadline in Germany. The money was then distributed to charitable organizations.

Last year, the deadline for a €1 million prize from BayernMillionen passed without any winner emerging. Consequently, the funds were relocated to a charitable fund.

On a positive note, Kuşat Yildirim—a lucky winner from Dortmund—managed to claim his €9.9 million prize before the deadline and later disclosed his winning tactics to the general public.

The Florida Millionaire Who Got Away

Despite their best efforts, the Florida lottery was unable to locate the Mega Millions winner and aid them in claiming their prize. After a public appeal making its rounds, no individual came forward to claim the jackpot. As a result, 20% of the winnings will now be added to the Mega Millions jackpot, while the remaining 80% will be distributed to charitable organizations throughout the U.S.

Due to similar regulations in Germany, several online casinos in Germany have reported cases of unclaimed winnings. For instance, a player from Hamburg failed to claim a €50,000 online casino jackpot before it expired, with the funds ultimately being donated to a local charity.

In light of this, online casinos in Germany have implemented stricter measures to ensure winners collect their winnings in a timely manner, sending notifications via email, phone, and even certified mail.

Occasionally in Germany, lottery tickets go unsubmitted, leading to the lapse of the legal claim period, which is set at three years.

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