Millions of people around the globe participate in lottery draws, and only a tiny fraction of them can hope to hit the jackpot. That being said, even when someone manages to win some major international lottery, it does not necessarily mean that they become multimillionaires. In many cases, winning ticket buyers simply do not collect their winnings. And some of them even ignore cash prizes that could change their lives forever.
$46 million from Mega Millions
The state of New York generates stories about such large forgotten jackpots relatively often. When the Mega Millions held a $46 million draw in April 2006, one Brooklyn resident did not notice that his/her ticket was the winning one. As a result, the local authorities used the multi-million dollar prize to boost subsequent jackpots and promote lottery draws.
$51.7 million from Powerball
When Powerball declared that two players had won its $103 million jackpot in 2002, only one of them responded to claim his half of the winnings. The other $51.7 million belonged to a player who purchased his fateful ticket somewhere near the Indianapolis International airport. However, he did not respond to the ad campaign that Powerball launched to create some buzz around the precedent.
$63 million from SuperLotto Plus
This case is even more intriguing than the previous ones because presumed winner Brandy Milliner actually contacted the lottery representatives to claim the prize. The only catch was that SuperLotto Plus conducted an investigation and found out that Brandy’s ticket was not a winning one. The incident happened in February 2016, and the lottery officials waited 180 days to award the actual winner. But since no one provided them with a winning ticket within that time frame, the jackpot remained unclaimed.
$68 million from Mega Millions
Mega Millions held this lottery draw in 2002, in the run-up to Christmas Eve. However, no player showed them the winning ticket before its expiration date expired. A year later, Fritzner Bechette approached the lottery company and claimed that he was the winner of that Christmas lottery draw. The player filed a lawsuit against Mega Millions to prove he actually won $68 million. But during the trial, it turned out that the company’s archives never contained the ticket Fritzner was talking about.
£64 million from EuroMillions
This unclaimed win was half of the £127 million jackpot. While one player who bought the winning ticket in Belgium received the money, the second winner from the UK failed to present his/her ticket on time. Although EuroMillions went to great lengths to find a second lucky player, no one responded to their promotional billboards. When the ticket expired on December 5, 2012, the lottery company transferred the funds to the National Lottery Good Causes, which distributed the money across various charity initiatives in the UK.
