Illinois Administrative Code › Title 11 - ALCOHOL, HORSE RACING, LOTTERY, AND VIDEO GAMING › Part 1770 - LOTTERY (GENERAL) › Section 1770.160 - Lottery Tickets

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a)
			 The Director is authorized to prepare for sale to the public such Lottery game
			 tickets as may be appropriate for implementation of the Lottery games offered,
			 from time to time, by the Department, or to offer Lottery game tickets at no
			 charge to consumers 18 years of age or older as a promotional tool.
b) Each Lottery game ticket shall contain the
			 price of the ticket, the drawing date if appropriate, unique identification
			 validation numbers or ticket symbols, barcode and other information the
			 Director may deem appropriate for security and marketing purposes. If a Lottery
			 game ticket is being offered at no charge in connection with promotional
			 activities of the Department, the ticket may be stamped with the words "not for
			 sale" or words of similar import.
c) Any unsigned Lottery game tickets issued
			 by the Director is a bearer instrument and shall be treated as such until a
			 name is imprinted or placed upon the rear portion of the ticket in an area
			 designated for "Name". Once a name is placed on the rear of the ticket in the
			 place designated for that purpose, the person whose name appears in that area
			 shall be the owner of the ticket and shall be entitled to any prize
			 attributable to that ticket, subject to the provisions of subsection (d) and
			 Section 1770.130(f).
d) In the event an otherwise valid Lottery
			 game ticket is submitted as a claim for payment, and the Department is put on
			 notice prior to payment of the claim that ownership of the ticket is disputed
			 by an adverse claimant alleging fraud, theft, loss, conversion or any other
			 misappropriation of the ticket by the claimant of record, the Department may
			 withhold payment of the claim for a period of 10 working days after the day the
			 adverse claim was first communicated to the Department. If a civil action is
			 initiated on behalf of the claimant or adverse claimant in a circuit court of
			 the State of Illinois, or equivalent court of any sister state within 10
			 working days after the Department has received the notice of adverse claim, the
			 Department shall continue to withhold payment of the prize, or any part of the
			 prize, to the claimant or adverse claimant until an adjudication of the
			 ownership has been rendered by the court, all statutory appeals have been
			 exhausted and, in the case of a judgment entered by the courts of a sister
			 state, the final order has been registered as a foreign judgment in an Illinois
			 court, and all statutory appeals have been exhausted, whereupon the Department
			 shall honor the claim of the prevailing party. During the course of any such
			 litigation conducted in the courts of the State of Illinois, the Department may
			 interplead and pay into court the prize or, in the case of an installment
			 prize, such installment or installments as may fall due during the course of
			 litigation. In the event the Department is not notified by written confirmation
			 received by the Department before close of business on the
			 10th working day after receipt of the initial
			 adverse claim by the Department, that a civil lawsuit has been filed as
			 provided in this Section, the Department shall honor the claim as filed by the
			 claimant who has presented the winning ticket, and will proceed to process the
			 claim for payment without further reference to the adverse claim. If a
			 violation of Illinois criminal law is indicated, the matter shall be referred
			 by the Director to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, and nothing in
			 this Section will be construed to require the Department to take any action or
			 pay any claim pending final disposition of any criminal investigation or
			 proceedings. No interest shall be payable with respect to prize payments made
			 by the Department, its contractor or other agencies authorized to make these
			 payments by direction of the Department.
e) No claim shall be deemed complete, and no
			 prize shall be awarded with respect to a claim, unless the claimant can and
			 does produce a valid winning Lottery game ticket for the game and prize
			 claimed. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) or Section
			 1770.130 or, for tickets
			 purchased through a subscription or via the internet, claims not accompanied by
			 a winning ticket will be rejected. Any claim received by an Agent and
			 unaccompanied by a ticket will be forwarded to the Department. Upon receipt of
			 any claim, the Department will notify the claimant of the rejection, by
			 certified mail, with notification to be deemed completed if returned
			 undelivered when mailed to the party's last known address with proper postage
			 prepaid. Notice of rejected claims will be mailed within 10 working days after
			 receipt of the claim by the Department, at its Lottery claims validation unit
			 in the Department offices at 404 North 5th Street
			 Springfield, Illinois 62702.