Powerball and Mega Millions Rules Winners Must Follow - PEOPLE

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Congrats, you hit the jackpot! Now what?

Winning the Powerball or Mega Millions is undoubtedly a life-changing experience — but if you so happen to be the person to defy the 1 in 300 million odds of snagging the lucky ticket, there are a number of rules to follow after claiming your prize.

In recent weeks, the aforementioned lottery games have been tit for tat with soaring prize purses. On July 19, a single-ticket Powerball winner won the $1.08 billion jackpot, standing as the seventh-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever, and third-largest Powerball jackpot.

Meanwhile, the Mega Millions prize pot continues to grow since the jackpot was last won on April 18. With an estimated $640 million with a cash option of $328.5 million as of July 18, its standing was similar to Powerball — making it the seventh-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever.

Powerball and Mega Millions are both American lotteries played across the United States with significant differences in gameplay; however, the rules winners must abide by are fairly similar for each. Guidelines to claim the prize and protocol after its claimed, though, differ between lottery jurisdictions.

In fact, California lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker tells PEOPLE exclusively that she "can't think of a single difference between those two multi-games in terms of how a winner claims their prize." Though she's sure to note that policies do "vary state to state."

For example, some lottery winners are allowed to retain a degree of anonymity, while others are required to reveal more detailed information. Public disclosure laws vary by state, according to the Mega Millions and Powerball lottery games' websites — therefore, winners must check with the lottery in their jurisdiction.

Read on for the wildest rules lottery winners must follow if they hit the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.

Jackpot winners must personally come forward with their winning ticket

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If a person thinks they hit the jackpot, they must present the winning ticket to their lottery retailer themselves. "It's up to the lottery player to figure out that they have the winning ticket," Becker tells PEOPLE.

"The gaming system captures where the winning combination was sold," she explains from downtown Los Angeles, where the recent winning Powerball ticket was purchased. "That's no secret. The store that sold a winning ticket is very public, very obvious, but we have no way of knowing who won it."

Jackpot winners must claim their prize in the same state in which they purchased the winning ticket

Mega Millions tickets are sold from lottery retailers and agents in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the Mega Millions website. However, winning tickets must be redeemed in the state they were purchased, because Mega Millions is sold by individual lotteries.

Jackpot winners are given two options for how they'd like to redeem their Mega Millions prize. They can cash in the winning ticket at their local lottery retailer — or depending on lottery location, claim by mail.

However, Becker — understandably — says, "I don't know anybody who would want to put their winning billion dollar ticket in the mail." She adds, "If you do that, you don't have to do it in person, but that's putting a lot of trust."

Same goes for Powerball. Prizes must be claimed in the jurisdiction where the winning ticket was purchased. However, where exactly within the jurisdiction depends on the prize won.

"Players can generally claim a prize up to $600 at any licensed lottery retailer in the jurisdiction where they bought the ticket. Prizes over $600 can be claimed at some lottery offices, depending on the amount, and also at lottery headquarters," according to the game's website.

Jackpot winners must claim their prize within a certain amount of days

While it's hard to imagine why anyone would wait to cash in their winning ticket, there is a rule in place for those who wait too long. A claim period is set for both Mega Millions and Powerball, though length varies per jurisdiction.

Ticket expiration dates typically vary from 90 days to one year form the draw date depending on the selling jurisdiction, per the Mega Millions and Powerball websites. Often, the expiration date is listed on the back of each ticket.

Jackpot winners must choose how they'd like to claim their prize

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Jackpot winners are given two options for how they'd like to claim their prize after handing in their tickets, though claim parameters vary from state to state. Powerball jackpot winners must choose between receiving their prize in 30 annual payments or a one-time, lump-sum cash payment. 

The cash value option "is the amount of money required to be in the jackpot prize pool, on the day of the drawing, to fund the estimated jackpot annuity prize," states the Powerball website. "The advertised jackpot annuity and cash value are estimates until ticket sales are final, and for the annuity, until the Multi-State Lottery Association takes bids on the purchase of securities."

As for Mega Millions jackpot winners, the payout options are similar. They must choose between an an annual payout or a cash option.

The annuity option "provides for an initial annual payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5 percent larger than the previous one," per the Mega Millions website. The cash option is a one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool."

Jackpot winners must forfeit the money if they don’t redeem within the claim period

"When there's an unclaimed prize or a prize that never gets paid out, this would be considered unclaimed," says Becker. In the rare case that a jackpot prizes goes unclaimed within the state's required time limit, the money is kept by the lottery jurisdiction and the earnings are used for different purposes.

The Mega Millions game will get back all the money that state contributed to the unclaimed jackpot, while the Powerball money must be returned to all lotteries in proportion to their sales for the draw run.

"The lotteries then distribute the money, based on their own jurisdiction's laws, to other lottery games or to their jurisdiction's general fund, or otherwise as required by law," reads the Powerball website.

For California, specifically, Becker says the prize "would go right into our fund for public schools." She continues, "It's always a little bittersweet for the lottery when that happens because we hate to see winners not get the prize money ... but the flip side, it's a huge win for schools."

Jackpot winners must share their prize if there are multiple winning tickets

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For both Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners, the prize must be split if there are multiple winning tickets. Furthermore, if more than one person goes in on one winning ticket, the pot must be shared between winners when claiming the prize.

"We always tell people who want to play as a group to really make sure you have a plan and trust the people you're playing with," says Becker. "I don't think people expect to win."

She continues, "And when a group wins, hopefully they have a plan. Hopefully they've already been adults and talked about how that's going to work amongst themselves."

Jackpot winners must have possession of the ticket to claim prize

No winning ticket? No money for you!

Those who hit the jackpot must have physical possession of the ticket when redeeming their prize. Mega Millions and Powerball are not responsible for lost or stolen tickets.

"The very first thing you should do is make sure your ticket is signed. People should sign their tickets even before the game," advises Becker for protection. "You sign it when you buy it. That's the smartest thing to do."

According to the Mega Millions website, "Lottery tickets are bearer instruments;" therefore, "Unless signed, anyone in possession of the ticket can file a claim."

If you win, Becker also suggests putting the ticket in a place where you know you won't lose it, like a a safe, deposit box at the bank or a wallet. "Maybe it never leaves your body... you cannot get the prize money if you do not have the winning ticket," she says of the no-exceptions policy.

Jackpot winners must disclose their identity in certain states

While some lucky ticket holders want fame upon hitting the jackpot, others want to remain anonymous. Public disclosure laws vary state by state for both Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners.

For Mega Millions, its website states that "some states require their lotteries to publicly identify winners, while others do not." For Powerball, its website states that "some jurisdictions are required by law to provide the winner's name, city of residence, game won and prize amount to any third party that requests the information."

However, specific personal details from winning ticket holders must be disclosed to the lottery so that officials can confirm the winners are eligible to play, and to comply with other legal requirements.

"Here in California, lottery players' names are part of public record," explains Becker. "When there's a winner and that person has been vetted and officially declared a winner, we will make sure to announce it."

Though she's sure to note, "it's only their name in California" that is made public. "Not their age, not their race ... not where they live," she says. "That's not part of public record, only their name."

Meanwhile, Becker says her team "always encourages them to share how they feel with the public because it's such a fun, humanizing story when there's a winner." She continues, "But more often than not, they politely decline. They feel good, but don't want to be high profile. And that's completely understandable."

Jackpot winners must choose a beneficiary to receive prize payments

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In the unfortunate circumstance that a lottery winner dies before receiving all annual payments, there's a system in place to ensure the money doesn't go to waste. Protocol varies state by state.

Mega Millions, specifically, will keep paying the annual payments — as scheduled — to the winner's designated beneficiary or to the winner's estate. The annuity method has the winner claiming an immediate payment, followed by 29 annual payments.

Powerball, specifically, will keep paying the winner's estate if the jackpot winner dies before receiving all annual installments. "Upon receipt of a court order, annual prize payments will continue to be paid to the winner's heirs," per the game's website.

Jackpot winners must pay a percentage in tax

You're a multimillionaire now, so be prepared to be treated like one.

All Mega Million prizes are subject to income taxes. For tax-withholding information, check with your lottery as details vary by state. All Powerball jackpot prizes, for both the annual and cash payout options, are subject to federal and jurisdictional income taxes.

The top tax bracket for the highest earners in the U.S. "has a 37 percent tax rate," according to the Washington Post. “The lottery is really a poor man’s tax,” Kurt Panouses, a Florida lawyer who advises winners of big lotteries, told the outlet.

“By having those lottery funds come in, the government doesn’t have to tax wealthier people," he continued. "Unfortunately, the wrong people spend a lot of money on the lottery.”

Jackpot winners must go through an interview process after claiming

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty 

If a player thinks they've won the jackpot, they must go through an interview process when they go to claim the grand prize. In fact, Becker tells PEOPLE they don't call people "winners" when they go to "submit a claim" because "there are bad actors from time to time who submit a claim who are not the rightful winner."

She continues, "That's why it's important for us to have a very standard process in place where big winners are interviewed. We actually have security and law enforcement officers on our staff. They interview big winners."

Of the process, Becker says the interview is pretty straightforward, but "there are things that only the winner knows." For example, players know if they opted for a computer-generated pick or whether they picked their own numbers.

"Our computers know that, but the public doesn't know that, only the winner does," Becker reveals. "That has to come up in the interview with the big winner and that's helpful for our team to protect the legitimacy of the game."

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