Some say that those who are lucky in gambling are unlucky in love, and vice versa. If that's the case, in recent years, many people were unlucky in love and luck in gaming... But a bunch of people didn't take advantage of this "little hand of fate". More than R$ 2.5 billion (US$ 500m) have not been redeemed by Caixa lottery players since 2015. In 2021 alone, R$ 586.8 million (US$ 117m) were "forgotten".
The biggest single prize ever forgotten in the history of Caixa's lotteries was a gambler who didn't show up and lost R$162.2 million (US$ 32.4m). It was placed in São Paulo and hit the six dozen of the 2020 Mega da Virada, but the winner missed the jackpot.
The forgotten values
According to data released by Caixa, more than R R$ 2.5 billion (US$ 500m) were not delivered from 2015 to 2021. The prizes correspond to the jackpots of Mega-Sena, Dupla-Sena, Quina, Lotofácil, Lotomania and Loteca:
2021 - R$ 586,8 milhões - (US$ 117m)
2020 - R$ 311,9 milhões - (US$ 62.25m)
2019 - R$ 331,9 milhões - (US$ 66.25m)
2018 - R$ 332,2 milhões - (US$ 66.3m)
2017 - R$ 326 milhões - (US$ 65.06m)
2016 - R$ 320,4 milhões - (US$ 63.95m)
2015 - R$ 301,3 milhões - (US$ 60.13m)
Where does the money go?
Whenever the amounts are not required, the money is transferred in full to the Student Financing Fund (Fies), a federal government program that helps low-income students to attend higher education in private institutions, as determined by Law 13,756/18.
From unregistered pool to ticket loss
Often bad luck outweighs good luck. A gambler from Minas Gerais had hit the numbers for a draw that would earn him R$ 8 million (US$ 1.6m) — the prize was shared with another lucky person, totaling R$ 16 million (US$ 3.2m). What he didn't expect was for his wife to throw the ticket in the trash.
In 2010, in the city of Novo Hamburgo, in Rio Grande do Sul, 40 participants in a sweepstakes matched the six dozen of a Mega-Sena ticket. The amount was accumulated at R$ 53 million (US$ 10.6m). However, the lottery house employee forgot to register the bet. The gamblers, who did not ask for proof, tried to go to court against Caixa and the lottery, but were unable to get the prize.
Unlucky around the world
It is not only in Brazil that this type of situation occurs. A US$5.3 million winner didn't realize he had a winning ticket and missed the deadline to claim the jackpot. The situation occurred in 1995 with Clarence Jackson, an American gambler from Connecticut.
With his father facing a terminal illness and his mother diabetic, the man, then 25, didn't bother to check if he could be a new millionaire. His sister heard on the radio that the winner hadn't shown up and that the deadline would expire at midnight that day. By checking the old tickets, he discovered that he was the lucky one. However, as it was Sunday, he was unable to validate the document at the lottery headquarters.
Another case occurred in New York (USA). Erick Onyago had bought three tickets for the biggest American lottery in March 2013. On the day of the result conference, he accessed the website and saw that it was not this time, dismissing the paper. To his surprise, a few days later, he noticed that he had looked at the numbers from the previous day, which were not updated in time. He would be entitled to US$1 million.
Finally, in the United Kingdom, a couple lost the winning ticket valued at more than 3 million euros. The situation occurred in 2001. On television, Martyn and Kate Tott saw that the lottery was looking for the winner who had not appeared. Knowing the numbers they had bet, the two searched the house but could not find the winning ticket.
Source: UOL
