THE IOWA LOTTERY BOARD HAS APPROVED A CHANGE THAT WILL CUT THE TIME PLAYERS IN MULTI-STATE LOTTO GAMES HAVE TO CLAIM THEIR PRIZE FROM A WINNING TICKET FROM 365 TO 180 DAYS.
IOWA LOTTERY VICE PRESIDENT, MARY NEUBAUER, SAYS IOWA IS ONE OF ONLY 14 STATES WHICH HAVE A ONE YEAR CLAIM PERIOD — WHILE 33 STATES HAVE 180 DAY TIME LIMITS.
NEUBAUER SAYS THEY STARTED LOOKING INTO THE ISSUE AFTER CONTINUALLY SEEING UNCLAIMED PRIZES OF ALL AMOUNTS.
CLAIM1 OC….CLAIMED :13
THE CHANGE WOULD IMPACT THE POWERBALL, MEGAMILLIONS, LUCKY FOR LIFE, AND LOTTO AMERICA GAMES.
THE CLAIM PERIODS FOR OTHER IOWA LOTTERY PRODUCTS WILL NOT CHANGE.
NEUBAUER TOLD THE LOTTERY BOARD THEY STARTED STUDYING THE ISSUE BY LOOKING AT ONE SINGLE DRAWING DAY AND ITS PRIZE REDEMPTIONS.
CLAIM2 OC….SIX MONTHS :10
SHE SAYS THEY THEN EXPANDED THE RESEARCH TO SEVERAL MORE DAYS AND GOT THE SAME RESULT.
CLAIM3 OC….PERCENT :21
NEUBAUER SAYS DECREASING THE AMOUNT OF TIME PLAYERS HAVE TO CASH IN TICKETS WILL ALLOW THEM TO GET THE UNCLAIMED MONEY BACK INTO THE PRIZE POOL.
CLAIM4 OC….CLAIMED :11
NEUBAUER SAYS THEY DON’T HAVE A FIRM DATE FOR WHEN THEY WILL CHANGE THE PRIZE EXPIRATION TIME LIMIT, BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE A TRANSITION PERIOD.
CLAIM5 OC….TAKE EFFECT :12
NEUBAUER SAYS THEY NEED TO COMPLETE TESTING ON THE STATEWIDE GAMING SYSTEM BEFORE THE CHANGE CAN BE IMPLEMENTED.
THE LOTTERY ANTICIPATES MAKING THE CHANGE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF CALENDAR YEAR 2023.
