| (2) Payment of Prize Payments upon the Death of a Prize
Winner. In the event of the death of a prize winner, payments may
be made in accordance with §401.310 of this chapter (relating
to Payment of Prize Payments Upon Death of Prize Winner), otherwise,
payment of prize payments will be made to the estate of a deceased
prize winner in accordance with Texas Government Code §466.406.
(3) Powerball Prize Payments. All prizes shall be paid
through the Selling Lottery that sold the winning Play(s). All low-tier
cash prizes (all prizes except the Grand Prize) shall be paid in cash
or warrants in accordance with Texas statutes and these rules. A Selling
Lottery may begin paying low-tier cash prizes after receiving authorization
to pay from the MUSL central office.
(4) Powerball Prizes Rounded. Annuitized payments of
the Grand Prize or a share of the Grand Prize may be rounded to facilitate
the purchase of an appropriate funding mechanism. Breakage on an annuitized
Grand Prize win shall be added to the first cash payment to the winner
or winners. Prizes other than the Grand Prize, which, under this section,
may become single-payment, pari-mutuel prizes, may be rounded down
so that prizes can be paid in multiples of whole dollars. Breakage
resulting from rounding these prizes shall be carried forward to the
prize pool for the next Drawing.
(5) Powerball Prize Rollover. If the Grand Prize is
not won in a Drawing, the prize money allocated for the Grand Prize
shall roll over and be added to the Grand Prize Pool for the following
Drawing.
(6) Funding of Guaranteed Powerball Prizes. The Powerball
Group may offer guaranteed minimum Grand Prize amounts or minimum
increases in the Grand Prize amount between Drawings or make other
changes in the allocation of prize money where the Powerball Group
finds that it would be in the best interest of the game. If a minimum
Grand Prize amount or a minimum increase in the Grand Prize amount
between Drawings is offered by the Powerball Group, then the Grand
Prize shares shall be determined as follows:
(A) If there are multiple Grand Prize winning Plays
during a single Drawing, each selecting the annuitized option prize,
then a winning Play's share of the guaranteed annuitized Grand Prize
shall be determined by dividing the guaranteed annuitized Grand Prize
by the number of winning Plays.
(B) If there are multiple Grand Prize winning Plays
during a single Drawing and at least one of the Grand Prize ticket
holders has elected the annuitized option prize, then the MUSL Annuity
Factor may be utilized to determine the cash pool. The cost of the
annuitized prize(s) will be determined at the time the annuity is
purchased through a process as approved by the MUSL Board. If the
annuitized option prize is selected by a Texas Lottery player, the
amount shall be determined by multiplying the winning Play's share
of the Grand Prize Pool by the annuity factor established in accordance
with Texas law and the rules of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The MUSL Annuity Factor will not be used for Texas Lottery players.
(C) If there are multiple Grand Prize winning Plays
during a single Drawing, and no claimant of the Grand Prize has elected
the annuitized option prize, then the amount of cash in the Grand
Prize Pool shall be an amount equal to the guaranteed annuitized amount
divided by the MUSL Annuity Factor. Minimum guaranteed prizes or increases
may be waived if the alternate funding mechanism set out in subsection
(d)(2)(D) of this section becomes necessary.
(7) Limited to Highest Powerball Prize Won. The holder
of a winning Play may win only one (1) prize per Play in connection
with the Winning Numbers drawn, and shall be entitled only to the
prize won by those numbers in the highest matching prize category.
All liabilities for a Powerball prize are discharged upon payment
of a prize claim.
(8) Powerball Prize Claim Period. Prizes must be claimed
no later than 180 days after the draw date.
(g) Ticket Validation. To be a valid Play and eligible
to receive a prize, a Play's ticket shall satisfy all the requirements
established by the Texas Lottery for validation of winning tickets
sold through its computer gaming system and any other validation requirements
adopted by the Powerball Group, the MUSL Board, and published as the
Confidential MUSL Minimum Game Security Standards. The MUSL and the
Selling Lotteries shall not be responsible for tickets which are altered
in any manner.
(h) Ticket Responsibility.
(1) Signature. Until such time as a signature is placed
upon a ticket in the area designated for signature, a ticket shall
be owned by the bearer of the ticket. When a signature is placed on
the ticket in the place designated, the person whose signature appears
in such area shall be the owner of the ticket and shall be entitled
(subject to the validation requirements in subsection (g) of this
section (Ticket Validation) and state or district law) to any prize
attributable thereto.
(2) Multiple Claimants. The issue of multiple claimants
shall be handled in accordance with Texas Government Code Chapter
466 and §401.304 of this chapter.
(3) Stolen Tickets. The Powerball Group, the MUSL and
the Party Lotteries shall not be responsible for lost or stolen tickets.
(4) Prize Claims. Prize claim procedures shall be governed
by the rules of the Commission as set out in §401.304 of this
subchapter and any internal procedures used by the Texas Lottery.
The MUSL and the Party Lotteries shall not be responsible for prizes
that are not claimed following the proper procedures as determined
by the Selling Lottery.
(i) Ineligible Players.
(1) A Play or share for a MUSL game issued by the MUSL
or any of its Selling Lotteries shall not be purchased by, and a prize
won by any such Play or share shall not be paid to:
(A) a MUSL employee, officer, or director;
(B) a contractor or consultant under agreement with
the MUSL to review the MUSL audit and security procedures;
(C) an employee of an independent accounting firm under
contract with MUSL to observe drawings or site operations and actually
assigned to the MUSL account and all partners, shareholders, or owners
in the local office of the firm; or
(D) an immediate family member (parent, stepparent,
child, stepchild, spouse, or sibling) of an individual described in
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph and residing in
the same household.
(2) Those persons designated by a Selling Lottery's
law as ineligible to play its games shall also be ineligible to Play
the Powerball game in that Selling Lottery's jurisdiction.
(j) Applicable Law.
(1) In purchasing a Play, as evidenced by a ticket,
or attempting to claim a prize, the purchasers and prize claimants
agree to comply with and abide by all applicable laws, rules, regulations,
procedures, and decisions of the Selling Lottery where the ticket
was purchased, and by directives and determinations of the director
of that Party Lottery.
(2) A prize claimant agrees, as its sole and exclusive
remedy, that claims arising out of a Powerball Play can only be pursued
against the Selling Lottery which issued the Play. Litigation, if
any, shall only be maintained within the jurisdiction in which the
Powerball Play was purchased and only against the Selling Lottery
that issued the Play. No claim shall be made against any other Participating
Lottery or against the MUSL.
(3) Nothing in these Rules shall be construed as a
waiver of any defense or claim the Selling Lottery which issued the
Play, any other Participating Lottery or MUSL may have in any litigation,
including in the event a player or prize claimant pursues litigation
against the Selling Lottery, any other Participating Lottery or MUSL,
or their respective officers, directors or employees.
(4) All decisions made by a Selling Lottery, including
the declaration of prizes and the payment thereof and the interpretation
of Powerball Rules, shall be final and binding on all Play purchasers
and on every person making a prize claim in respect thereof, but only
in the jurisdiction where the Powerball Play was issued.
(5) Unless the laws, rules, regulations, procedures,
and decisions of the Lottery which issued the Play provide otherwise,
no prize shall be paid upon a Play purchased, claimed or sold in violation
of the MUSL Powerball Rules or the laws, rules, regulations, procedures,
and decisions of that Selling Lottery; any such prize claimed but
unpaid shall constitute an unclaimed prize under these Rules and the
laws, rules, regulations, procedures, and decisions of that Selling
Lottery.
(k) Powerball Special Game Rules: Powerball Power Play.
Cont'd... |
