Why Do Lottery Winners Wait to Claim a Prize?

Finally, the dream has come true. The Jackpot is yours. You’ve just won a life-changing amount of money waiting just for you. So you have the winning ticket in your hand matching all the drawn numbers. What do you do next? You head to the closest lottery outlet and request your money right? It turns out lottery winners tend to hide in the shadows of anonymity for some time. They don’t claim their prize; in fact, they wait on purpose. Why do they do this? If you take a step back and try to see the whole picture and put yourself in the winners shoes this approach seems logical after all. It’s easy to claim a prize, but what to do next? See? I can already think of several very logical reasons behind this approach.

Lottery Winners Want to Evaluate Their Current Situation

Unless the lottery winner jumps right away in a car and flies off to the lottery shop this is the usual reason for waiting to claim a prize. For example, if I won the jackpot I’d want to do exactly this, head to the shop and get my hands on the money as soon as possible. However, if I let the whole “I’m RICH” idea settle I’d probably first plan out the next few steps. What am I going to do with the money? Should I stay anonymous? Can I stay anonymous? Can I take the pressure of the media attention?

By now your opinion should have started to change regarding if you should wait before you claim the lottery prize. This sudden change in opinion took you only a minute. The lottery winner has hours, days, and weeks to decide what he/she is going to do. See what I did there? They take their time. In the past, there have been certain cases where the lottery winner would claim the prize and spend all of their money in less than a year. I don’t want you to do this to yourself. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to win the lottery, I just don’t want you to waste your money. Please, no misunderstandings.

They Consult With Tax Experts, Lawyers and Family Members

So what do lottery winners do while they take their time to claim the much desired jackpot. They’ve waited their whole life for this moment to come and now they wait. Most likely they’ve never had so much money to begin with. Different laws apply to high amounts of money. Lottery winners want to consult with accountants on tax matters. After all, a significant amount of money will go to the tax authorities. Finding the best ideal course of action that will minimize tax expenses is somewhere out there and accountants know best. Furthermore, some legal advice from a lawyer goes a long way. A lawyer can advise lottery winners what and when to do. Last, but by all means the opinion of the closest family members is crucial. Two heads think better than one. And on whom can I rely best if not my dearest and closest people. They’re my money, or in other words, they belong to the winner. However, I’d like to share my fortune with them. The least I could do is consult with them out of respect.

Lottery Winners Wait for the Dust to Settle – Think with a Cool Head

This sums the two previous points I made. Instinct is a feature of animals; people can think and plan ahead. Acting out of instinct in the society can lead to some severe problems. Let time put the puzzle pieces in place. In addition to this lottery winners tend to wait to claim a prize just because they want the media to back off a bit. Let the reporters forget that there’s a jackpot winner hiding in the shadows with the winning ticket. This way the lottery winner can guarantee the anonymity. After some time the public will lose interest in the whole jackpot mystery.

If I had to claim a prize I’d prefer to stay anonymous. I think that’s the way I can freely enjoy in the wealth, fortune brought to me. I don’t want the media’s eyes on me. However, those of you who want to be famous I suggest you to consult with a tax expert and head over to the lottery headquarters to claim your prize as soon as possible as you want the public to be hyped.

Delayed Lottery Prize Claiming May Not Be On Purpose

We’re all humans. It probably seems impossible to you, but there are lottery players who play tens of number selection at a time. It’s rather easy to forget to check exactly the winning ticket. Today this is highly unlike to happen since the whole lottery playing process is automatized. The lottery operator reminds you with an e-mail or an SMS if you play the lottery online. After 2-3 draws with no wins I’m on an auto-pilot. I lose hope and just keep playing the lottery without checking the results or my mail. Well, there are other lottery players who’re in this basket. Fortunately, today’s technology minimizes this unintentionally delayed prize claiming.

To wrap it up, I hope you will experience how it feels like to win the lottery and claim a prize that many would die for. If that happens, act smart and be careful.