How much lottery money goes unclaimed each year?
Ask how much lottery prize money expires unclaimed each year and you will get the same answer everywhere: about $2 billion.
Our estimate, built from current government data and the rates states actually disclose, is $1.05 billion to $1.68 billion a year. Here is how we got there and why nobody can give you a precise figure.
The numbers everyone quotes are eight years old
The $2 billion figure traces to a Fox Business article published on October 23, 2018, which quoted the founder of a lottery ticket app saying Americans forgo about $2 billion in unclaimed prize money annually. That is a businessman's estimate in an interview, not a compiled statistic, and it has been recycled ever since.
The other common figure, $2.89 billion, comes from a researcher who pulled data from every state lottery commission for the 12 months ending June 2017. That one is real research, but at the same time it is also nine years out of date. The same dataset produced the widely repeated line that 167 prizes worth $1 million or more went unclaimed in a single year.
What does not exist is a current national total. NASPL, the trade body for US lotteries, publishes sales and transfers to beneficiaries in detail and does not publish unclaimed prizes. State disclosure is voluntary, irregular, and inconsistent in what it counts.
What can actually be measured
The US Census Bureau surveys state government finances every year, which gives a solid and current denominator.
| US state lotteries | 2008 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket sales | $52.8 billion | $104.7 billion | up 98% |
| Prizes paid to players | $32.2 billion | $70.2 billion | up 118% |
| Net proceeds to states | $20.6 billion | $34.5 billion | up 68% |
| Share of sales paid as prizes | 61.0% | 67.0% | up 6 points |
Prizes have grown faster than sales, which is the industry competing on payout, and Virginia led every state in fiscal 2024 at an 80% prize payout rate. The relevant figure for our purposes is the $70.2 billion actually paid out and the $104.7 billion taken in, because unclaimed prizes are a slice of the money that was won but never collected.
The states that do publish data
| State | Unclaimed | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | about $78 million, roughly 1.6% of sales | fiscal 2021 |
| New York | $74 million, after more than $103 million the prior year | fiscal 2016-17 |
| California | $40 million to $50 million, typical year | recent average |
| Oregon | $8 million returned to the state | fiscal 2024 |
Michigan's is the most useful because it comes with a denominator. About 1.6% of sales went unclaimed there, which is the highest rate any state has put a number to. Oregon's $8 million is the freshest disclosure we could find, covering July 2023 to June 2024, and the state sends it to the same beneficiaries as the rest of its lottery money.
New York's pair of years shows why single-year figures mislead. The total unclaimed money fell from over $103 million to $74 million in twelve months, a swing of nearly 30%, driven by whether a few large prizes happened to expire rather than by any change in player behavior.
Our estimate, with the arithmetic shown
Take the range states have actually measured, and it's typically 1% to 1.6% of sales, and apply it to the $104.7 billion the Census Bureau recorded for 2024. That gives $1.05 billion at the low end and $1.68 billion at the high end.
Measured against prizes paid rather than sales, the same rates give $700 million to $1.12 billion. We prefer the sales basis because that is how Michigan reported its figure and it keeps the comparison consistent.
Either way, the popular $2 billion quote sits slightly above our estimated range. It may still be right in a year when a large jackpot expires, since a single unclaimed Powerball prize can add nine figures on its own, and the $77.1 million Georgia ticket that expired in December 2011 remains the record. In an ordinary year the number is more likely to start with a one.
Why so much of it never gets collected
Most of the total is small. A $4 draw-game prize, a $10 scratch-off in a coat pocket, a ticket bought on a trip and never checked. Deadlines do the rest, and they are shorter and more varied than people expect, running from 90 days in some states to a year in others. We list them in how long you have to claim a scratch-off prize.
The money does not vanish. Depending on the state it returns to the prize pool, to education, or to whatever that legislature has designated, and we traced the destinations in what happens to unclaimed lottery prizes and looked at the education side in how much state lotteries actually give schools.
The part you control is small and dull: check every ticket including the losers, sign the back, and know your state's deadline. Instructions are in how to claim a scratch-off prize.
How we calculated this. Sales, prizes and proceeds figures come from the US Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State Government Finances for 2024 and 2008, not adjusted for inflation. Note that Census reports $104.7 billion in 2024 sales while NASPL reports $113.5 billion for fiscal 2024; the two use different definitions and reporting periods, and we use Census because it is government data with a consistent series back to 2008. State unclaimed figures are as reported by each lottery or by contemporaneous news coverage citing lottery officials, and they cover different fiscal years, so the table is a set of data points rather than a like-for-like comparison. Our estimate applies the 1% to 1.6% range those disclosures imply to the Census sales figure, and it is an estimate rather than a measurement.
Sources
Oregon Lottery: unclaimed prizes returned to the state in fiscal 2024
Fox Business, October 23, 2018: The lottery’s hidden secret, billions in unclaimed prizes
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much lottery money goes unclaimed every year?
Somewhere between roughly $1.05 billion and $1.68 billion a year in the US, on our estimate. No national organization publishes an official figure. That range applies the unclaimed rates individual states have disclosed, about 1% to 1.6% of sales, to the $104.7 billion in ticket sales the Census Bureau recorded for 2024.
Where does the $2 billion unclaimed figure come from?
A Fox Business article published on October 23, 2018, quoting the founder of a lottery ticket app, who said Americans forgo about $2 billion in unclaimed prizes annually. It is repeated constantly and it is not an official statistic. The other widely cited number, $2.89 billion, covers the 12 months ending June 2017.
Which states publish their unclaimed prize totals?
Only some, and rarely on a schedule. Oregon reported $8 million returned to the state in fiscal 2024. Michigan reported about $78 million in fiscal 2021, roughly 1.6% of sales. New York reported $74 million in fiscal 2016-17 after more than $103 million the year before. California has averaged $40 million to $50 million a year.
Jessie Jurado is a news writer who covers new scratch-off launches, state lottery guides, taxes on winnings, news, and much more. She joined ScratchCheck in 2026 and writes the site's state-by-state coverage.
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