Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3770:1 - Lottery Commission › Chapter 3770:1-8 - Claiming and Payment of Prizes › Section 3770:1-8-04 - Payment of prize awards

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) Payment to be made to claimant. Prizes
			 shall be claimed in the name of the holder or holders of the ticket. After
			 validation and proper submission for payment within the established redemption
			 period as specified in this rule, payment of prize awards shall be made
			 promptly to the person in whose name the claim is made. Validation of any
			 ticket does not complete the claiming process and will be subject to the
			 redemption period as specified in this rule.
(B) Method of payment. As permitted by
			 applicable law, the director may order that prizes up to and including five
			 hundred ninety-nine dollars will be paid by sales agents out of the proceeds of
			 their ticket sales. All valid tickets for prizes up to and including five
			 hundred ninety-nine dollars must be validated and cashed by the sales agent
			 within one hundred eighty days of the drawing date of the winning ticket if the
			 lottery game is an on-line game, one hundred eighty
			 days from the ticket purchase date if the lottery game is an EZPLAY®
			 game, or one hundred eighty days after the close of the game if the
			 lottery game is an instant game. All other prizes will be paid by official
			 check,
								
			 warrant or other electronic forms of payment.
			 After issuance of a pay-to-bearer by a sales agent to a prize winner, prizes
			 from six hundred dollars up to and including five thousand dollars may be
			 redeemed by a prize winner presenting proper identification as determined by
			 the director at any authorized branch office of a banking institution
			 participating in the lottery's bank cashing program or at any authorized sales
			 agent participating in the lottery's licensed retailer cashing program
			 . The lottery's licensed retailer
			 cashing program for prizes from six hundred dollars up to and including five
			 thousand dollars shall hereafter be referred to as the "LRC program." The LRC
			 program shall be conducted in accordance with lottery rules, regulations,
			 policies and procedures and the director shall have the authority to determine
			 which sales agents may participate in the program and the director shall have
			 the discretion to terminate the LRC program or remove a sales agent from the
			 LRC program at any time and for any reason. All valid tickets for prizes from
			 six hundred dollars up to and including five thousand dollars must either be
			 redeemed at an authorized banking institution or at an authorized sales agent
			 participating in the LRC program, or all tickets along with a completed claim
			 form must be received by a lottery office, within one hundred eighty days of
			 the drawing date of the winning ticket if the lottery game is an on-line game,
			 one hundred eighty days from the ticket purchase date
			 if the lottery game is an EZPLAY® game, or one hundred eighty days after
			 the close of the game if the lottery game is an instant game. After validation
			 by the banking institution or a sales agent authorized to participate in the
			 LRC program in conjunction with the lottery, the banking institution or a sales
			 agent authorized to participate in the LRC program may pay the winner in cash,
			 by official check,
								 by deposit to an account or other electronic forms of payment. The
			 participating banking institution may charge the prize winner a fee agreed to
			 by the director. All valid claims exceeding five thousand dollars shall have
			 the applicable state and federal withholding taxes withheld along with any
			 other deductions required by law, and must be received by a lottery office
			 within one hundred eighty days of the drawing date of the winning ticket if the
			 lottery game is an on-line game, one hundred eighty
			 days from the ticket purchase date if the lottery game is an EZPLAY®
			 game, or one hundred eighty days after the close of the game if the
			 lottery game is an instant game in accordance with the procedures set forth in
			 rule
			 3770:1-8-02
			 of the Administrative Code. All valid claims must be filed and redeemed for
			 payment within one hundred eighty days of the drawing date of the winning
			 ticket if the lottery game is an on-line game, one
			 hundred eighty days from the ticket purchase date if lottery game is an EZPLAY®
			 game, or one hundred eighty days after the close of the game if the
			 lottery game is an instant game.
(C) Payment of prizes.
(1) When there is more than one winning
			 ticket for any prize subject to pari-mutuel distribution, each winning ticket
			 shall entitle its holder to receive a pro rata share of the prize in accordance
			 with the number of winning selections validated by the on-line computer system
			 and the game rule governing that particular game.
(2) Prizes shall be paid in a lump sum unless
			 otherwise provided or required in the game rule.
(3) If applicable, installment payments may
			 be made by official check,
									 warrant or other
			 electronic forms of payment, sent to the prize winner's address by mail
			 delivery within the United States, or, all but the initial installment payment,
			 may be sent to the prize winner via electronic funds transfer to an established
			 bank account located anywhere within the United States. Requests by a prize
			 winner to have installment payments sent to addresses outside the United
			 States, or to have payments sent via electronic funds transfer to any off-shore
			 accounts, may be considered by the director. However, such requests may be
			 denied. Prize winners may also request to pick up their installment payments at
			 a designated lottery office.
(4) In
			 the event that prizes may be paid as an annuity, the director may adopt an
			 order that gives winners the option to receive a discounted cash value of a
			 prize less the appropriately withheld state and federal income taxes and any
			 other amounts required by law. The formula for setting the discounted cash
			 value shall be determined by the director in accordance with the game rule
			 governing the game in which the prize is won. The prize winner(s) shall have
			 sixty calendar days from the date of the redemption for payment of their valid
			 claim to the lottery, as prescribed by paragraph (B) of this rule, to opt for
			 the discounted cash value of the prize award, and such option shall not be
			 revoked. At the time the valid claim is presented to the lottery, the
			 discounted cash value of the prize, the formula used to compute that amount and
			 the amount of appropriately withheld state and federal income taxes shall be
			 disclosed in writing to the prize winner. A single winning ticket may be paid
			 pursuant to these rules in either annual installments or in a lump sum equaling
			 the discounted cash value. Prize winners who claim a joint prize from a single
			 winning ticket will all receive prize payments in either annual installments or
			 in a single, lump sum equaling the discounted cash value of their portion of
			 the joint prize award. Prize winners who claim a joint prize from a single
			 winning ticket may not opt to receive different forms of payment. Notice of
			 such selection must be received by the lottery or post office stamped by the
			 sixty calendar day deadline, or the prize winner shall be paid in annual
			 installments as set forth in the applicable game rule in which the prize was
			 won.