WSR 18-17-086
PERMANENT RULES
WASHINGTON STATE LOTTERY
[Filed August 14, 2018, 9:33 a.m., effective September 14, 2018]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Changes to WAC 315-06-040 provide additional language that clearly specifies which promotional and advertising materials do not apply to this WAC. This will reduce confusion for staff as to what promotional items are required to contain a specific, printed odds statement.
Changes to WAC 315-02-130 will clearly state who is an employee of the commission and who is not, thereby reducing misconceptions about contractors and licensed agents being classified as employees.
Changes to WAC 315-34-057 provide clarifying language regarding a player claiming a Lotto prize, presenting a winning ticket, undergoing a debt check, and selecting a cash or annuity option.
Changes to WAC 315-38-090 provide clarifying language regarding a player claiming a lottery jackpot prize, presenting a winning ticket, undergoing a debt check, and selecting a cash or annuity option.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: WAC 315-06-040, 315-02-130, 315-34-057, and 315-38-090.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 67.70.040 (1), (3).
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 18-12-067 on June 1, 2018.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 14, 2018.
Kristi Weeks
Director of Legal Services
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 10-16-025, filed 7/23/10, effective 8/23/10)
WAC 315-02-130Employee of the commission defined.
"Employee of the commission" means the ((employees or agents of the lottery and the director))salaried or wage earning employees of the state lottery. "Employee of the commission" does not mean contractors, subcontractors, consultants, or licensed agents of the state lottery, unless expressly defined in contract.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 08-11-043, filed 5/14/08, effective 6/14/08)
WAC 315-06-040Disclosure of probability of purchasing a winning ticket.
(1) The estimated probability of purchasing a winning ticket shall be conspicuously displayed on:
(a) The tickets for a specific game;
(b) All printed promotional and advertising materials for a specific game, including but not limited to, brochures, posters, billboards, placards, and point-of-sale displays.
(2) The estimated probability of purchasing a winning ticket shall be communicated in television and radio commercials for a specific game.
(3) The estimated probability of purchasing a winning ticket for each category of prize in a specific game shall be conspicuously displayed as part of:
(a) The "how-to-play" brochure which explains the procedures for the lottery's draw games; and
(b) The brochures of instructions to lottery retailers for the conduct of specific scratch games.
(4) The disclosure required by this section shall not apply to:
(a) Generic promotional and advertising materials publicizing the Washington state lottery which do not promote a specific draw game or a specific scratch ticket theme; or
(b) Promotional and advertising materials which promote multiple draw or scratch games or any combination of games in a single piece. Materials that promote or advertise multiple games or a combination of games in a single piece are required to include the following language: "Please visit walottery.com for the latest odds." Such materials may include, but are not limited to, jackpot signs, banners, curb signs, building signage, vehicle wraps, and billboards.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 05-12-005, filed 5/18/05, effective 6/18/05)
WAC 315-34-057Lotto prize claim and payment methods.
The following sets forth requirements for claims and payment of Lotto prizes:
(1) Claims for prize payment shall be made in accordance with chapter 315-30 WAC.
(2) Prize payments shall be made as follows:
(a) Cash option:((After))When a player ((has claimed))claims a jackpot prize or a share of a jackpot prize, ((and after the claim has been validated (including a debt check pursuant to WAC 315-06-125),)) the player may elect to be paid a one-time single cash payment of fifty percent of his or her share of the announced jackpot, provided:
(i) The player must elect this cash option within sixty days of the ((validation))presentation of his or her ((prize))winning ticket, by following the procedure required by the lottery;
(ii) If the federal tax code is interpreted by federal authorities to require that this cash option be exercised within sixty days of the drawing for the prize, then (a)(i) of this subsection will not apply and instead, the player must elect this cash option within sixty days of the date of the drawing for the prize;
(iii) The player's choice of payment method as designated by signing the appropriate lottery form is final and may not be changed by the player at a later date.
(b) Annuity: A player who chooses not to elect the cash option or who does not elect the cash option within the sixty-day limit will be paid his or her prize in twenty-five annual installment payments.
(3) After the player has made his or her choice of payment method, the lottery will validate the claim, including a debt check pursuant to WAC 315-06-125, and pay the prize as appropriate.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 05-11-050, filed 5/13/05, effective 6/13/05)
WAC 315-38-090Jackpot prize payments.
(1) Prior to each drawing, the directors shall determine the estimated annuitized jackpot prize amount to be advertised. The advertised jackpot prize amount shall be the basis for determining the amount to be awarded for each Mega Millions panel matching all five of the five Mega Millions winning numbers drawn for Field 1 and the one Mega Millions winning number drawn for Field 2. No annuitized jackpot prize, when there is only one jackpot prize winning ticket, shall be less than $12 million.
(2) If, in any Mega Millions drawing, there are no Mega Millions panels that qualify for the jackpot prize category, the portion of the prize fund allocated to such jackpot prize category shall remain in the jackpot prize category and be added to the amount allocated for the jackpot prize category in the next consecutive Mega Millions drawing.
(3) If the annuitized jackpot prize divided by the number of Mega Millions panels matching all five of the five Mega Millions winning numbers for Field 1 and the one Mega Millions winning number for Field 2, is equal to or greater than $1,000,000, the jackpot prize(s) will be paid under the annuity option unless a cash option was selected by the winner(s), as follows:
(a) Cash option:((After))When a player ((has claimed))claims a jackpot prize or a share of a jackpot prize, ((and after the claim has been validated (including a debt check pursuant to WAC 315-06-125),)) the player may elect to be paid a one-time single cash option payment as defined by WAC 315-38-020(3), provided:
(i) The player must elect this cash option within sixty days of the ((validation))presentation of his or her ((prize))winning ticket, by following the procedure required by the lottery;
(ii) If the federal tax code is interpreted by federal authorities to require that this cash option be exercised within sixty days of the drawing for the prize, then (a)(i) of this subsection will not apply and instead, the player must elect this cash option within sixty days of the date of the drawing for the prize;
(iii) The player's choice of payment method as designated by signing the appropriate lottery form is final and may not be changed by the player at a later date;
(iv) Cash option jackpot prizes shall be paid in a single payment in accordance with the internal validation procedures and settlement procedures pursuant to the multistate agreement and the Washington state lottery. At the director's discretion, an initial payment of a portion of the cash option prize may be paid to the winner at the time the prize is claimed.
(b) Annuity: A player who chooses not to elect the cash option or who does not elect the cash option within the sixty-day limit will be paid his or her prize in twenty-six annual installment payments. The initial payment shall be paid in accordance with the internal validation procedures and settlement procedures established by the multistate agreement and the Washington state lottery. The subsequent twenty-five payments shall be paid annually to coincide with the month of the federal auction date at which the bonds were purchased. All such payments shall be made within seven days of the anniversary of the actual auction date. This date of payment of the subsequent payments is subject to the discretion of the director of the Washington state lottery, acting in the best interest of the lottery.
(4) After the player has made his or her choice of payment method, the lottery will validate the claim, including a debt check pursuant to WAC 315-06-125, and pay the prize as appropriate.
(5) In the event multiple Mega Millions panels match all five of the five Mega Millions winning numbers for Field 1 and the one Mega Millions winning number for Field 2, and the annuitized Mega Millions jackpot prize divided by the number of winning game panels is less than $1,000,000, each Mega Millions jackpot prize winner shall be paid an amount equal to the "cash equivalent grand/jackpot prize," as defined by the multistate agreement, divided equally by the number of jackpot prize winners. Each such jackpot prize winner will be paid in a single cash payment.