Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 9 - TEXAS LOTTERY COMMISSION › Chapter 401 - ADMINISTRATION OF STATE LOTTERY ACT › Subchapter D - LOTTERY GAME RULES › Section 401.317 - "Powerball" Draw Game Rule

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Powerball®. Powerball is a Multi-State Lottery
				  Association (MUSL) lottery draw game offered by all Lotteries that have agreed
				  to MUSL's Powerball Group Rules. The purpose of the Powerball game is the
				  generation of revenue for MUSL Party Lottery members and Mega Millions Party
				  Lotteries participating under the Cross-Sell Agreement, through the operation
				  of a specially designed multi-jurisdiction lottery game that will award prizes
				  to ticket holders of validated winning tickets matching specified combinations
				  of numbers randomly selected in regularly scheduled Drawings. The Powerball
				  game is authorized to be conducted by the commission executive director
				  (executive director) under the conditions of the MUSL rules, the laws of the
				  State of Texas, this section, and under such further instructions, directives,
				  and procedures as the executive director may issue in furtherance thereof. In
				  this regard, the executive director is authorized to issue such further
				  instructions and directives as may be necessary to conform the conduct and play
				  of the Powerball game to the requirements of the MUSL rules if, in the opinion
				  of the executive director, such instructions, directives, and procedures are in
				  conformance with state law. To be clear, the authority to participate in the
				  Powerball game is provided to the Texas Lottery Commission (commission) by
				  MUSL. The conduct and play of the Powerball game must conform to the MUSL
				  Powerball Group Rules. Further, if a conflict arises between this section and
				  §
										RSA
				  401.304 of this chapter (relating to Draw
				  Game Rules (General)), this section shall have precedence. In addition to other
				  applicable rules contained in Chapter 401, this section and definitions herein
				  apply unless the context requires a different meaning or is otherwise
				  inconsistent with the intent of the rules adopted by the MUSL or the MUSL
				  Powerball Group.
(b) Definitions.
(1) "Agent" or "retailer" means a person or
				  entity authorized by the commission to sell lottery Plays.
(2) A "Drawing" refers collectively to the
				  formal draw event for randomly selecting the Winning Numbers that determine the
				  number of winning Plays for each prize level of the Powerball game and Power
				  Play promotion.
(3) "Game ticket"
				  or "ticket" means an acceptable evidence of Play, which is a ticket produced in
				  a manner that meets the specifications defined in the rules of the Selling
				  Lottery and subsection (g) of this section, and is a physical representation of
				  the Play or Plays sold to the player.
(4) "MUSL" means the Multi-State Lottery
				  Association, a government-benefit association wholly owned and operated by the
				  MUSL Party Lotteries.
(5) "MUSL
				  Board" means the governing body of the MUSL, which is comprised of the chief
				  executive officer of each Party Lottery. "MUSL Finance and Audit Committee"
				  shall mean the committee of that name established by the MUSL Board.
(6) "MUSL Annuity Factor" shall mean the
				  annuity factor as determined by the MUSL central office through a method
				  approved by the MUSL Finance and Audit Committee and which is used as described
				  in this rule.
(7) "Pari-Mutuel" or
				  "pari-mutuel" as used in this section shall mean wagered funds that are pooled
				  and then paid in equal shares to the holders of winning Plays as described in
				  this section and the MUSL Rules.
(8) "Party Lottery" means a state lottery or
				  lottery of a political subdivision or entity that has joined MUSL and is
				  authorized to sell the Powerball game. "Licensee Lottery" shall mean a state
				  lottery or lottery of a governmental unit, political subdivision, or entity
				  thereof that is not a Party Lottery but has agreed to comply with all
				  applicable MUSL and Product Group requirements and has been authorized by the
				  MUSL and by the Powerball Product Group to sell the Powerball game. "Selling
				  Lottery" or "Participating Lottery" shall mean a lottery authorized by the
				  Product Group to sell Plays, including Party Lotteries and Licensee
				  Lotteries.
(9) "Play" means the six
				  (6) numbers, the first five (5) from a field of sixty-nine (69) numbers and the
				  last one (1) from a field of twenty-six (26) numbers, that appear on a ticket
				  and are to be played by a player in the Powerball game.
(A) "Powerball Plays" (PB Plays) shall refer
				  to Plays purchased as part of the Powerball game, but shall not include Power
				  Play Plays.
(B) "Power Play Plays"
				  shall refer to Plays purchased as part of the Power Play promotion described in
				  subsection (k) of this section.
(10) "Power Play" shall refer to the Power
				  Play promotion as described in subsection (k) of this section.
(11) "Powerball Group" or "Product Group"
				  means the MUSL member group of lotteries which have joined together to offer
				  the Powerball product pursuant to the terms of the Multi-State Lottery
				  Agreement and the Powerball Group's rules, including the MUSL Powerball Drawing
				  Procedures. In this rule, wherever either term is used it is referring to the
				  MUSL Powerball Group.
(12) "Prize"
				  means an amount paid to a person or entity holding a winning ticket.
(A) "The Grand Prize" shall refer to the top
				  prize in the Powerball game.
(B)
				  The Advertised Grand Prize shall mean the estimated annuitized Grand Prize
				  amount as determined by the MUSL Central Office by use of the MUSL Annuity
				  Factor and communicated through the Selling Lotteries prior to the Grand Prize
				  Drawing. The Advertised Grand Prize is not a guaranteed prize amount and the
				  actual Grand Prize amount may vary from the advertised amount, except in
				  circumstances where there is a guaranteed Grand Prize amount as described in
				  paragraph (6) of subsection (f) of this section.
(C) The "Set Prize" or "low-tier prize" means
				  all other prizes, except the Grand Prize, and, except in instances outlined in
				  this section, will be equal to the prize amount established by the Product
				  Group for the prize level.
(13) "Terminal" means a device authorized by
				  the commission for the purpose of issuing Powerball game tickets and as defined
				  in §
											RSA
				  401.301(General Definitions) of this
				  chapter.
(14) "Winning Numbers"
				  means the numbers randomly selected during a Drawing event which shall be used
				  to determine the winning Plays for the Powerball game or the Powerball game
				  promotion being drawn.