Forgotten Prizes: What happens when the winner does not claim their money?

Many people dream about the day when they will hit the jackpot with a winning ticket from the Mega Sena, Quina, or any other lottery. After all, who wouldn't want to become an instant millionaire with a simple piece of paper? However, unbelievably, there are prizes that end up forgotten. What happens when a lucky winner does not show up to claim their wealth?

Abandoned Tickets

Surprisingly, many lottery prizes end up forgotten by the winners. The reasons vary: the ticket may have been lost, the winner may not have checked the drawn numbers, or they may simply not have realized that their ticket was the big winner.

Time Does Not Stop

The Federal Savings Bank, which administers the lotteries in Brazil, establishes that prizes must be claimed within 90 days after the draw date. After this period, the right to the prize lapses, and the lucky individual loses the chance to become a millionaire.

The Destiny of the Unclaimed Prize

And when the prize is not claimed, where does the money go? In Brazil, the value of the forgotten prizes is entirely destined to the Student Financing Fund (FIES), the main financing program for higher education in the country. Therefore, if the lucky one does not show up, the prize ends up benefiting thousands of students all over Brazil.

List of forgotten prizes

Now let's take a look at 5 significant prizes that have been forgotten in the recent history of Brazilian lotteries:

• Mega Sena draw 2150, held in May 2019: The prize was a staggering R$ 289 million and was not claimed.
• Quina draw 2013, held in February 2018: A prize of R$ 6.4 million was forgotten.
• Lotofácil draw 4522, held in April 2020: A prize of R$ 2.6 million was not claimed.
• Mega Sena draw 1764, held in November 2015: The prize was R$ 5.8 million and was not claimed.
• Lotomania draw 408, held in September 2021: The forgotten prize in this draw was R$ 1.9 million.

The Importance of Checking Your Ticket

This reality highlights the importance of checking your ticket after each draw and keeping it safe until the results are announced. Losing a lottery prize due to forgetfulness or carelessness would undoubtedly be a great disappointment.

Hope

Even if you do not hit all the numbers, there are still chances to win some amount. Although the main prize may have been forgotten, there are other prize categories in each draw.

In the end, the phenomenon of the "forgotten prize" reminds us that the lottery does not end at the moment of ticket purchase. It is essential to check the results and, if you are the lucky winner, claim the prize within the deadline. Your luck may be waiting, but it will not wait forever.