Huge jackpot winners almost always claim and collect their winnings, so, this may seem like advice worth going without saying. That said, another very crucial part of winning a Michigan lottery game prize is turning in the winning ticket.
Like most everyday shelf products, claim to any winnings is time-limited and thus carries an expiration date. An expiration date can be set to six months or a full year from date of ticket purchase or result drawing.
The Law
According to MI Lottery rules of play, unclaimed winnings including shares from Mega Millions and Powerball prizes, will, by default, be forfeited to the Michigan State School Aid Fund. If the deadline date falls on a weekend or public holiday, winners have until the end of the next business day to claim the prize.
A case in point so far this year, is the unclaimed $519,456 Jackpot Slots – Fast Cash prize. This prize has since 27 July 2018 expired. So, even if someone found the winning tickets today. They’d be out of luck as the prize money has already been donated to the School Aid Fund.
The official expiry date on a winning ticket may conditionally be extended for certain eligible players. E.g. a special extension is given to military personnel who were perhaps serving out of the country during the entire grace claim period.
Why Prizes Go Unclaimed
The majority of prizes that go unclaimed are lower tier prizes. This is most likely because players never realize they won one of the secondary prizes.
Some players habitually don’t trouble to check their tickets. Especialy when they hear that there was no jackpot winner. Or that the winning ticket was purchased out of their area.
