Are you a paranoid player who frantically checks their lottery ticket or bet slip constantly? Or are you a chilled player who places their bets and goes on with their day? If you won a massive payout, you wouldn’t want to miss the deadline for collecting your prize. However, there are those who make history for not claiming their windfall. Here’s a list of the biggest unclaimed lottery tickets in history:

EuroMillions - £64 Million (over R1,3 Billion)
This is reportedly the largest unclaimed payout in the world and it is also the highest ever unclaimed EuroMillions lottery prize. Weeks after the prize went unclaimed, a billboard campaign commenced to encourage the winner to come forward. Unfortunately, the incredible payout passed the 180-day limit on 5 December 2012. On the bright side, a portion of the winnings was donated to the National Lottery Good Causes, an organisation that gives unclaimed money to various charities around the United Kingdom.

Powerball - $77 Million (over R1,2 Billion)
A Georgia resident would not feel so peachy if they found out they missed out on a $77 Million (over R1,2 Billion) payout on the US Powerball. The winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store on 29th June 2011 and expired 6 months later. To date, this missed payout set the record as it became the biggest unclaimed prize in the state of Georgia since 1993.

Mega Millions - $68 Million (over R1,1 Billion)
The winning Mega Millions ticket worth $68 Million (over R1,1 Billion) was purchased on 24 December 2002, in New York and passed its expiration date.
A year later, Fritzner Bechette came forward to claim that he had been trying to claim the prize from the time the results were drawn. Consequently, he sued the New York Lottery for $63 Million (over R1 Billion).
The reason for his unsuccessful claim is that the winning lottery ticket went missing in a “non-retrievable situation”, he claims.
After a lengthy investigation, officials could not find the ticket matching Fritzner’s description in the New York State lottery archives or at the place he says he bought the ticket.

SuperLotto - $63 Million (over R1 Billion)
A $63 Million (over R1 Billion) SuperLotto ticket was left to rot in 2016 after it had passed the 180-day deadline. Eventually, a California resident claimed to be the lucky winner and submitted the winning ticket to lottery officials.
The second time the “winner” was contacted, they were told that they would forfeit the prize due to the condition of the ticket. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the ticket did not match the winning ticket because the alleged ticket had a different purchase date.
Even though the evidence does not match the claim, the claimant is adamant that the payout is rightfully theirs. To this day, the “unclaimed” ticket has not found its rightful owner.

Mega Millions - $46 Million (over R794 Million)
There must be something in the water in New York because some of the largest unclaimed prizes seem to come from there.

An unlucky Brooklyn individual missed out on an extraordinary payout of $46 Million (over R794 Billion) in the Mega Millions draw that took place on 25 April 2006. In the state of New York, unclaimed prizes are returned to the prize pool for the next draw.

Luckily, when you bet on LottoStar’s major lotteries, your bet slip is emailed to you to avoid such mishaps. Bet on LottoStar’s major lotteries to stand a chance to win payouts of up to R800 Million.