This Canadian couple lost their $50 million lottery ticket, but it was found and returned by a person in their Toronto church. Would the lottery organisation have traced them? PHOTO: The Record

Each year more than a half a billion lottery dollars go missing when tickets get lost in glove compartments, washing machines, desk drawers and sometimes even literally in the trash. And it all adds up to a massive windfall for the lotteries.

The 43 states that participate in Mega Millions and Powerball were polled in 2013 by NBC News to find out just how much money is left unclaimed at the end of the year.

The amounts were staggering.

In one year there was more than $500 million in unclaimed lottery prizes from scratch-off games, lotto and daily games.

While the number fluctuates each year, it can sometimes total more than big Mega Millions and Powerball individual jackpots.

And 2013 was an unusually low year, according to several state lottery officials.

"Everybody must need their money this year,” said Danielle Frizzi-Babb, a spokeswoman for the Ohio state lottery. Ohio’s unclaimed prizes totaled $16.2 million, but Frizzi-Babb said it’s usually higher.

When a jackpot gets big, people get so excited about the jackpot that they forget there are smaller but substantial prizes to be had.

If they see that the jackpot number wasn’t hit, or see that someone won in a different state, they often just scrap their ticket.

There's More Than A Jackpot

"When you have a number that’s that large, everyone gets focused on the jackpot and they do lose sight of the fact that there are second, third, fourth place prizes," said Christy Calicchia, a spokeswoman for the New York state lottery.

But many big money seekers don't even realize they can cash in with less than a perfect ticket.

“There are some people who really only play when the jackpot is high,” Calicchia said.

When the jackpot is won, they often throw away their tickets, and it makes a sizeable amount.

Gave Up On Unclaimed Prizes

"We used to do a little tracking of unclaimed prizes years ago, but have given up," said Charles Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

So where does the money go?

Many lotteries use the money to fund statewide projects and education. In Kentucky, the unclaimed winnings are earmarked for the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship Fund, a merit-based scholarship for students attending college.

Of the states that responded, Montana had the least amount of forgotten prizes with less than a million - $931,218.

In Virginia, $12 million went unclaimed. But players in that state have overlooked $235 million since the state lottery's inception 1988.

About $65 million in total lotto sales went unclaimed in New York.

Arizona was one of the lowest state totals with just over $5 million in unclaimed prizes, but one of the tickets was a $1 million Powerball ticket.

In California, $22 million went unclaimed, said Russell Lopez, deputy director of communications for the California State Lottery.

Lopez said California's number is much lower than New York's.

Looking For Winners

"We actually try to find our winners," Lopez said. "That last month that it’s going to expire, we start publicizing."

Pennsylvania has a similar system, as tickets worth more than $50,000 are publicized by the state’s lottery via local newspapers and social media.

In some states, the forgotten money goes to fund education projects. While in other states, like New York, the money goes back into the prize pool or to fund one-time drawings and games.

Some states reapply the unclaimed money into pools because in reality... "lotteries love to give prizes away," Strutt said. "It is far better for the game if more players can report themselves as winners," he added.

He said players should be sure not to misplace or destroy their tickets in frustration after not winning the big jackpot.

STORY: NBC News