Posted on: October 1, 2024, 03:20h.
Last updated on: October 1, 2024, 03:20h.
On Tuesday night, March 26, a lucky lottery player purchased a physical Mega Millions ticket that hit the jackpot. The prize was worth $1.13 billion, the ninth-largest lottery reward in United States history.
Over six months later, the ticket still hasn’t been redeemed. While many state lotteries give Mega Millions winners six months or less to redeem their prize, New Jersey affords winners a year.
The Mega Millions Consortium, which operates the popular interstate lottery game on behalf of 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, says most jackpots are redeemed within a few weeks or months. In a recent statement, the lottery group encouraged the person in possession of the life-changing ticket to come forward.
The winner should contact New Jersey Lottery as soon as possible to begin the claim process,” the Mega Millions Consortium notice read.
While it’s smart for major lottery winners to consult with legal and financial professionals to assist in deciding whether to take a lump cash sum or the full value of the jackpot paid out over a 30-year annuity, that process typically doesn’t take over a half-year. As the days drag on, it becomes increasingly likely that the winning ticket, worth a one-time cash option of $537.5 million, is lost.
Spring Deadline
The New Jersey Lottery’s allowance of tickets being redeemed up to a year after the drawing means the $1.13 billion Mega Millions ticket retains its value until March 2025. The winner has until March 26, 2025, to file the claim before the ticket becomes worthless.
The winning $2 play was sold at the ShopRite grocery and liquor store in Neptune just west of Asbury Park. The winning numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and the Mega Ball was 4.
Along with deciding on the annuity or cash option, the winner must choose whether to remain anonymous, as allowed through a bill that New Jersey lawmakers passed in 2020, or to make their identity public. The one-time cash option of $537.5 million would be before a federal tax of 37% and a state levy of 10.75%.
New Jersey’s tax on lottery winnings is among the highest in the country that trails only New York’s 10.9% tariff.
Online Lottery Protection
Participating Mega Millions states have redemption window timeframes that vary greatly.
Oregon gives winners just 60 days, while three states give winners only 90 days — Iowa, New Mexico, and South Carolina. Most jurisdictions, 27 states plus D.C. and the Virgin Islands, provide winners with six months to come forward.
New Jersey is one of 13 states that provides a year for redemption. The others are Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Only nine states currently facilitate online ticket sales for Mega Millions and Powerball. New Jersey isn’t one of them, but the state does allow online lottery couriers like Jackpocket to purchase physical tickets on behalf of internet users based in the state.
Digital lottery plays prevent tickets from being misplaced, stolen, or accidentally damaged. When a winning jackpot is sold online, the ticket is secure and the winner will be approached by their courier or state lottery for ticket redemption proceedings.
