When you're waiting for the winner to be announced, sometimes it takes a little longer
One of the most exciting aspects of playing the lottery for most people is the anticipation of a possible huge win, and that excitement peaks right at the time of checking the ticket. But for some other people, players and non-players alike, their excitement is in finding out who won the jackpot.
So who won?
More than likely it’s going to be a complete stranger from halfway across the country, state, or province. Sometimes it could be someone in your own town or city. It could also be a person that lives in your neighbourhood, or the next door neighbour. When the winner’s name and picture are released, which can happen fairly quickly, that elation is quickly satisfied, especially if it is a person who really needs the money.
However, sometimes it can take a long time for the winner to be announced, and that can rile up a few of those in the public a little bit. A situation could arise in which questions will be asked:
• Why hasn’t anyone claimed the prize yet – It could be that the winner does not even realize they hold the winning ticket and therefore it could be months before they check their ticket and discover they hit the jackpot. The ticket could be one of those that gets lost or forgotten about and the prize will never be claimed by the end of one year from the draw date. Some winners actually wait until the very last moment of the year end before claiming the ticket, hoping that most of the public has lost interest in finding out who won.
• Why is it taking so long to release the winner’s name – After announcing that the jackpot in the draw has been won, the ticket holder has to go through a verification process to authenticate the ticket and that they are the legitimate holder of the ticket. Depending on the scope of the investigation and authentication process, it may take up to several months before the winner can be announced, especially if there is a contention as to who the rightful ticket holder is.
• Why is the news saying there is an issue with the prize claim – One major reason for a delay in announcing who won the lottery, is a suspicion of fraud, either with the person who is claiming the win, or the ticket itself. In cases of suspected fraud, a deep investigation is launched which puts the win on hold until an official decision is announced, and the investigation may extend past the one year claim deadline.
Public perception of the game
In the public perception, the longer it takes for a winner to be identified, the more suspicious some people become, and unfortunately they may post online their own ideas of what is going on, which could fuel some dissent against the lottery in general. This in turn creates rumours of conjecture and both the operator and the regulator may have to do some damage control on statements that simply are not true. So the faster a winner claims a jackpot, and the faster the winner is identified to the identification of the winner, the less likely an issue can occur that will delay the announcement of the winner.
On the lottery operator’s side, releasing the name, picture, and hometown of the winner in a timely manner is not just a way to publicize the lottery, but it keeps the lottery transparent and shows the public that real people really do win the jackpots. And when a member of the public discovers the winner is from their own town or city, it gives them proof that anyone can win the lottery. And that hopefully keeps them buying tickets.