When a physical scratchcard game closes, sales stop — but valid prizes usually do not expire that same day.
The game enters a final claim period. Retailers remove unsold stock, the lottery keeps validation and prize-claim systems available for already-sold tickets, and a separate final deadline determines when an old winner becomes too late to pay.
Before closure, valid tickets can still be sold and prizes can be claimed. Once the operator formally closes the game, new retail sales stop and remaining stock leaves the active sales network.
But people who already bought tickets usually receive a defined period to check, validate and claim them. The exact length of that period depends on the country, state, province or operator.
Some lotteries give only a few months after closure; others give years. Ireland currently says players have up to 90 days after play closes, California gives 180 days from the announced end-of-game date, and Lotto NZ allows Instant Kiwi claims for 12 months after closure.
So if you discover an old ticket, the first question is not simply “is this game still on sale?” It is “has the final claim date passed?”
Closing a physical scratchcard is a process rather than a single switch.
The lottery identifies when the game will leave sale and publishes claim information under its own rules.
Retailers must stop selling the ended game even if physical cards remain in the store.
Remaining books and tickets are returned, accounted for, destroyed or recycled according to the operator's inventory procedures.
The validation system remains relevant during the claim window so legitimate old winners can still be authenticated.
Once the final deadline passes, outstanding tickets become subject to the local expired or unclaimed-prize rules.
Because the lottery needs to stop creating new players in the game before it can reasonably close the door on people who already bought tickets.
There is no worldwide expiry period. Current official rules vary dramatically.
| Market | Current physical instant-ticket claim rule | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Up to 90 days after the date when Scratch Card play closes. | Official Game End Notices list the last date to claim each ended game. |
| California, USA | Scratchers must be postmarked or received within 180 days of the announced end-of-game date. | The announced end date and California claim rules. |
| New Zealand | Instant Kiwi in-store prizes can be claimed for up to 12 months after the game closes. | The specific Instant Kiwi game and closure status. |
| Ontario, Canada | INSTANT prizes can be claimed until the expiry date printed on the back of the ticket unless OLG specifies otherwise. | The ticket-back expiry information and current OLG rules. |
| Queensland, Australia | Instant Scratch-Its prizes must be claimed within 7 years after the game closure date. | State where the ticket was purchased. |
| NSW / ACT, Australia | Instant Scratch-Its prizes must be claimed within 6 years after game closure. | State/territory purchase jurisdiction. |
| Victoria, Australia | Claim with the lottery within 12 months of game closure; later claims move to the Victorian State Revenue Office process. | Victorian rules for older claims. |
| South Australia | Initial lottery claim period is 12 months after Instant Scratch-Its game closure; later statutory claim processes can apply. | Current SA rules and any administration requirements. |
The Irish National Lottery maintains a dedicated Game End Notices system rather than simply deleting old games.
Ireland publishes games for which gameplay has ended, separating them from still-active Scratch Cards.
The current guidance says a player has up to 90 days to claim outstanding prizes after play closes and tells players to check the “Last Date to Claim a Prize” for the individual game.
The same end-notice page can show replacement games, while also identifying cases where a discontinued game has no replacement.
No. Physical stock remaining in the dispenser does not override the lottery's official end of sale.
Tickets remain legitimate retail products while the game is live and the retailer's pack is valid for sale.
The retailer must stop treating that game as active, even if there are unsold cards left in the pack.
The lottery's retailer and warehouse controls determine how the remaining books are reconciled.
A customer who purchased the card while the game was live can still have a valid claim during the published claim window.
They do not simply remain valid forever because they still exist physically.
California's audited financial reporting separately tracks Scratchers ticket returns and inventory that has not yet been sold to retailers. At the end of a game, unissued and returned ticket costs are written off under its accounting procedures.
California has documented unsold expired tickets being returned for destruction. Lotto NZ takes a greener route for withdrawn Instant Kiwi stock, sending unsold scratchies to an Auckland facility where they are recycled into fibre packaging.
Yes, provided the ticket was validly acquired and the claim arrives before the applicable final deadline.
California's regulations require a Scratchers ticket to be genuine, legally obtained, properly issued and submitted before the applicable claim period expires. Ireland similarly maintains a claim-only period after game end.
Do not rely on whether you still see that design in shops. Check the exact game identity and expiry information.
Names and artwork can be reused. The game number identifies the exact physical issue or print run.
Look for the game-end date, ticket-back expiry date or operator's ended-game listing.
This — not just the retail closure date — determines whether an old winning claim can still be considered.
Do not destroy, heavily damage or throw away the card while checking whether it remains claimable.
If the claim window is still open, follow the operator's current retailer, postal or prize-centre process without waiting for the deadline.
Yes. In fact, the post-closure claim period exists partly because this is expected to happen.
The ticket may be sitting unscratched or unchecked in a wallet, glovebox, drawer or gift envelope.
Public “prizes remaining” information tracks the operator's recorded game status, not the real-time location of every winning physical ticket.
The game can stop selling while the lottery remains obligated to honour valid previously sold tickets during the claim period.
Because an instant game has an operational and commercial lifecycle as well as a prize table.
Lotto NZ says it has historically withdrawn Instant Kiwi games from retail sale once all top prizes have been won.
Lotteries regularly introduce new physical themes, prices and prize structures while older games leave the retail range.
A game does not always stay alive until the literal last physical ticket has been purchased.
A printing, validation, integrity or rules issue can require an operator to suspend or withdraw a game earlier than normal.
At that point the issue is no longer whether the game is closed — the prize itself has expired under the relevant rules.
California says Scratchers must be received or postmarked within 180 days of the announced end-of-game date. Ontario's rules say INSTANT prizes not claimed by the applicable expiry deadline are forfeited and not awarded.
Ontario says unclaimed prizes from Ontario-only Lotto, Sports and INSTANT games are directed to profits paid to the provincial government for the benefit of Ontarians. Other markets use their own rules for expired prize liabilities.
Australia is a good reminder that even tickets sold under the same broad Instant Scratch-Its brand can have different expiry rules.
The Lott currently says Instant Scratch-Its prizes can be claimed within seven years after the relevant game's closure date.
The current claim period is six years after Instant Scratch-Its game closure.
Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory and South Australia use different initial or statutory claim arrangements. The purchase jurisdiction therefore matters as much as the game itself.
The new ticket may look similar or even reuse a familiar theme, but mechanically it is a separate game.
The replacement is manufactured or issued as its own game rather than inheriting leftover tickets from the closed one.
Prize counts, payout and top-prize distribution can differ even if the retail price or branding is familiar.
You should read the published odds for the new game rather than assuming they match the older version.
The launch of a replacement does not erase the claim window for valid winning tickets from the game it replaced.
Most operators keep a separate claim period after sales end.
Official game end removes the stock from legitimate sale.
Outstanding sold winners can remain claimable during the post-closure period.
Current examples range from months to several years.
A replacement is a separate game with its own population and probabilities.
The sales lifecycle ends first; the prize-claim lifecycle usually finishes later.
A game ending connects directly to unsold inventory, remaining prizes, validation and what happens when the system does not work as expected.
Claim periods vary widely, so use the official game number, closure notice and rules for the exact ticket and jurisdiction rather than relying on a generic expiry period.
Sales stop, remaining retailer and warehouse stock is taken out of the active sales channel, and the game moves into a claim-only period. Winning tickets that were already sold can normally still be validated and claimed until the operator's published deadline.
Usually not. Closure and prize expiry are normally separate dates. Ireland currently gives players up to 90 days after play closes, California gives 180 days from the announced end-of-game date, and Lotto NZ allows Instant Kiwi prizes to be claimed for 12 months after the game closes.
No once the operator has formally withdrawn or ended the game. Remaining stock must be taken out of sale and handled under the lottery's inventory, return and disposal procedures.
They become withdrawn inventory. Operators can require retailers to return or reconcile the stock, after which tickets may be securely destroyed or recycled. The exact process varies by lottery.
No player owns an unsold ticket, so no player can claim its prize. A physical winning result can exist in withdrawn stock, but if the ticket was never purchased it does not create a valid player claim.
Normally during the valid claim period, yes, because the lottery still needs to authenticate sold winning tickets. Once the final claim deadline has passed, the ticket may no longer be payable even if the printed play area appears to show a prize.
It depends on the jurisdiction. Ireland uses up to 90 days after game closure, California uses 180 days, Lotto NZ uses 12 months, Ontario uses the expiry date printed on the INSTANT ticket unless otherwise specified, and Australian periods vary by state or territory.
Games can be withdrawn because major prizes have been claimed, the operator is refreshing the product range, sales or stock have reached the planned end of the lifecycle, or a security, technical or printing issue requires suspension or closure.
Yes. A game can end while prizes remain publicly listed as unclaimed or outstanding. Some of those tickets may already have been sold, which is one reason lotteries keep a claim window open after sales stop.
Check the operator's game number and official final claim date immediately. If the claim window is still open, the ticket may still be payable subject to validation. If the deadline has passed, the prize can be forfeited under the applicable rules.
That depends on local law. Ontario says unclaimed prizes from Ontario-only Lotto, Sports and INSTANT games are directed to profits paid to the provincial government. Other jurisdictions use different statutory or lottery-accounting treatments.
No. A replacement game is a new game with its own ticket population, prize structure, odds and game number. Ireland's official game-end notices even identify replacement games separately from the games that have ended.
This page uses current operator game-end notices, claim rules and official physical instant-ticket procedures across several lottery markets.