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While we couldn't find an exact figure, columnist Al Tompkins of Poynter Online estimates that hundreds of millions of state lottery dollars go unclaimed every year. This seems entirely reasonable, considering the net amount of money involved. According to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, during the last fiscal year, U.S. lottery sales totaled $44.9 billion. To pick one state (albeit a big one), this table from LottoReport.com reports that last year, Texas had $72 million dollars of unclaimed state lottery prize money. California
had roughly $38 million. Florida governor Jeb Bush awarded a single unclaimed $30 million dollar ticket to his state's languishing education budget. Where does all this unclaimed money go? Out of the 38 states that hold lotteries, 10 of them roll over all the money to the prize pool. Other states take percentages towards "state asset pools," such as education, transportation, or tax relief. The NASPL offers a state-by-state guide to where the money is transferred. Over 57% of Americans played the lottery last year. The largest jackpot ever? On Christmas day 2002, Jack Whittaker of West Virginia won $314.9 million, to be paid out over 30 years. He
elected to receive a lump sum payment of $170.5 million instead.
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