Scratch-off lottery tickets are a popular gift to give around the holidays, but one NewsChannel 9 viewer went to cash in his tickets and was told they were expired and couldn’t be redeemed.
While there isn’t a standard expiration date like you see on food products, the back of every scratch-off ticket does say “all cash prizes must be claimed within one year of announced end of game”.
So how do you know when a game ends?
You can click here to find the instant game reports page.
On the instant game reports page you can look up your game and your game number which is found on the back of the scratch-off ticket.
Players have until the listed cash deadline to claim any prizes.
Newschannel 9 did find that holiday specific tickets have deadlines that approach faster than your staple, all year-round ticket.
For example, a “Baa Humbucks” ticket that was purchased a year ago was found to be expired when it was checked on the game reports page.
A look at an “Instant Take 5” ticket which was purchased a year ago is still open, according to the lottery site, so you would have at least another year to cash it in.
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