Of course it's better sooner, especially if the lottery is from a private gambling company which could go bankrupt so you won't be able to receive the winnings.
In my opinion, if there are winners who need a long time to receive the winnings, it is because there is a verification stage that must be carried out by the gambling company that holds the lottery because of course they don't want the money to be given to people who are not the real winners, because of cases like this might happen and gambling company could be in dangers, but I have never won or bought a lotre, but if I win, of course I really want to receive it straight away because before the money is in our hands, it is not our money because something bad could happen and we can't enjoy it.