Twelve lucky players in Massachusetts are sitting on $25 million lottery wins—but none have come forward to claim their prizes.
The wins came from the new Mega Money game, which launched on May 13. Each ticket holds a massive $25 million prize, payable in $50,000 installments over 20 years if the annuity option is chosen. Despite the life-changing sum, all 12 winners from this particular game remain unidentified.
If the prizes go unclaimed by the deadline, the winners will lose their chance to collect, and the money will be reabsorbed by the lottery fund.
This isn’t the only Mega Money game facing low claim rates. In another version of the game, also launched on May 13, one of four winners has claimed the prize. The other three have yet to respond.
A third Mega Money game shows the same troubling trend. All three winning ticket holders have yet to step forward, mirroring the complete lack of claims seen in the first game.
Other high-value Massachusetts Lottery games are experiencing similar delays. In the $4 million Bonus Money game, only three of the ten winners have claimed their prize. That leaves seven winners unaccounted for.
In the Diamond Deluxe game, which offers $15 million per winning ticket, just three out of eight winners have come forward.
However, not all games suffer from low claim rates. In the Merry & Bright Blowout, a $500-prize game, 11,047 out of 11,088 winners have already claimed their money. Only 41 winners remain unidentified.
Lower-prize games typically see higher claim rates, in part because they offer more winning tickets and are easier to track.
Massachusetts Lottery officials encourage all players to double-check their tickets. To view active games and unclaimed prizes, players can visit the official Massachusetts Lottery website.
