Virginia Administrative Code › Title 11 - GAMING › Agency 5 - VIRGINIA LOTTERY BOARD › Chapter 41 - LOTTERY GAME REGULATIONS › Section 11VAC5-41-320 - Unclaimed prizes

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Except for a
				free ticket prize, a claim for a lottery game winning ticket must be mailed in
				an envelope bearing a postmark of the United States Postal Service or another
				sovereign nation or received for payment as prescribed in this chapter within
				either 180 days after the date of the drawing for which the ticket was
				purchased, or of the event that caused the ticket to be a winning entry, or, in
				the case of a scratcher, within 180 days after the announced end of the game.
				In the event that the 180th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,
				the winning ticket will be accepted for validation on the next business day
				only at a lottery office.
B. Any
				lottery cash prize that remains unclaimed after either 180 days following the
				drawing that determined the prize or 180 days after the announced end of the
				scratch game shall revert to Virginia's Literary Fund. Cash prizes do not
				include free ticket prizes or other noncash prizes such as merchandise,
				vacations, admission to events and the like.
C. All claims for computer-generated game
				winning tickets for which the prize is a free ticket must be mailed in an
				envelope bearing a postmark of the United States Postal Service or another
				sovereign nation or received for redemption as prescribed in this chapter
				within 180 days after the date of the drawing for which the ticket was
				purchased. In the event the 180th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
				holiday, a claimant may only redeem his winning ticket for a free ticket at a
				cashing retailer on or before the 180th day.
Except for claims for free ticket prizes mailed to lottery
				  headquarters and postmarked on or before the 180th day, claims for such prizes
				  will not be accepted at any lottery office after the 60th day. This section
				  does not apply to the redemption of free tickets awarded through the
				  subscription program.
D.
				Any scratch game winning ticket of $25 or less that has been purchased but not
				claimed within 180 days after the announced end of the scratch game shall
				revert to the Virginia Lottery Fund.
E. In case of a prize payable over time, if
				such prize is shared by two or more winning tickets, one or more of which is
				not presented to the agency for payment within the prize redemption period as
				established by the game rules, the agency will transfer that portion of the
				prize to Virginia's Literary Fund in accordance with procedures approved by the
				State Treasurer.
F. In accordance
				with the provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 1940 (50 USC App
				§ 526), any person while in active military service may claim exemption
				from the 180-day ticket redemption requirement. Such person, however, must
				claim his winning ticket or share as soon as practicable, and in no event later
				than 180 days after discharge from active military service.
Statutory Authority: § 58.1-4007 of the Code of
					 Virginia.