Just How long does it take to receive your lottery winnings?

Just imagine that magical moment when you find out you’ve had a big lottery win. You will be dreaming of how you can spend your windfall in the now rosy future. How long though does it take for your winnings to be paid to you?

It’s only natural that you will want to be spending some of your winnings as soon as you can. However, there is going to be a bit of time before your bank account receives its massive boost. The quicker you claim your winnings, the sooner that cash will be yours. Not every successful player does that though and often winnings go unclaimed for months or end up expiring without being claimed. Always look at the terms and conditions of lotteries to see advice on claiming wins and how they will be paid. For example, you have 90 days in New Mexico to claim a win but it’s 180 days in many other US states such as Florida and North Carolina and a year in Minnesota.

Most Wins can be claimed immediately

In the USA, there are differing processing times for prizes won in lotteries. Smaller wins will be paid quicker than massive jackpots worth millions of dollars. Big winners regularly comment on how they presented their ticket to a shop cashier only to be told the win was so big it couldn’t be paid out there and then.

Generally, the rule is that wins up to $600 are paid out right away. Slightly larger windfalls might be paid out later that day or the next banking day. With jackpot prizes, it’s likely to be five to ten banking days.

Buying tickets online is becoming increasingly popular. If you have an online account, then smaller wins can be paid into your account immediately. With the much larger wins, it’s a case of contacting the lottery operator and claiming your winnings first.

A Big Decision to Make

When playing a lottery such as Powerball or Mega Millions, there is a big decision to make if you win a jackpot. You can either claim your great win or ask for it to be paid in one lump sum. This won’t take too long but will be 61% of the advertised jackpot.

Always look for the cash option figure on the website. Alternatively, you could ask to have your win paid in the form of an annuity and receive 100% of the advertised jackpot. This sees a percentage of the win paid over 29 years, though this time period can be different with some lotteries, so again check the terms and conditions. Most players choose the one-off payment, especially if they aren’t that young.

Wealth Management

You may be keen to get that win paid into your account but take time to consider how you are going to cope with the massive windfall. We recently told you of Laura Tutcho from Canada who won a $55m Lotto Max jackpot on May 1. After contacting the lottery company, she was told to move to Calgary where the next month was spent going through how to cope with her winnings, a process called ‘wealth management.’

Don’t forget that tax may have to be paid on your winnings. That’s not the case with a lottery such as the UK Lotto or EuroMillions (which saw a lucky ticket in Spain win a massive €144m on Tuesday). It is the situation though with American jackpots such as Powerball and Mega Millions.

So, if that great win happens, don’t worry it won’t be too long before your bank account swells. Then you can start enjoying your winnings, hopefully with a ticket purchased from Lottery24.

Buy your lottery tickets today from Lottery24