Rome – The Italian Lottery proves to be a lucky opportunity not only for winners, but also for the state coffers. Since 2002, prizes worth over €32 million have been left unclaimed.
A trend that continues unabated, with the latest edition seeing players forget about winnings of over €1,2 million.
Million-dollar oversights and negative records
According to data from Agimeg (the gaming market press agency), the phenomenon of forgotten winnings is constant. The lowest number dates back to 2008, when the €5 million first prize won in Rome was never claimed.
A sensational case that prompted the Customs and Monopolies Agency to award two first prizes instead of one in the following edition.
Among other forgotten million-dollar prizes, noteworthy is the €2 million second prize won in the province of Caserta in the 2015-2016 edition, when the total unclaimed winnings exceeded €2,9 million. In 2012, the €2 million second prize was also forgotten, contributing to a total of nearly €3 million left in the state coffers.
The numbers from the latest edition: 280 prizes and 200 million euros uncollected.
In the latest edition of the Italian Lottery , thanks to over 8,6 million tickets sold, 280 prizes were awarded for a total of €21 million. Although all top-tier prizes were claimed, Italians forgot to claim a grand prize of €1.230.900, in addition to the €130 in unclaimed daily prizes. The deadline for claiming prizes expired in early July.
All prizes not claimed within 180 days of the publication of the Official Bulletin go directly to the Treasury.
It's strange that so many prizes remain unclaimed. Perhaps people aren't checking their tickets as they should. It would be interesting to know how this situation can be improved and prevented from happening again.