| (3) Cancellations Prohibited. In all instances, a Play
recorded on the Lottery gaming system may not be voided or cancelled
by returning the ticket to the selling agent or to the commission,
including tickets that are misprinted, illegible, printed in error,
or for any reason not successfully transferred to an authorized selling
entity or player. A Selling Lottery may develop an approved method
of compensating retailers for Plays that are not transferred to a
player for a reason acceptable to the Selling Lottery and not prohibited
by the Mega Millions Product Group. No Play that is eligible for a
prize can be returned to the commission for credit. Plays accepted
by retailers as returned Plays and which cannot be re-sold shall be
deemed owned by the bearer thereof.
(4) Maximum Purchase. The maximum number of consecutive
drawings on a single Play purchase is ten (10).
(5) Subscription sales. A subscription sales program
may be offered, at the discretion of the executive director.
(d) Mega Millions Prize Pool. The prize pool for all
prize categories offered by the Party Lotteries shall consist of up
to fifty-five percent (55%) of each Drawing period's sales, inclusive
of any specific statutorily-mandated tax of a Party Lottery to be
included in the price of a MM Play, and inclusive of contributions
to the prize pool accounts and prize reserve accounts, but may be
higher or lower based upon the number of winning Plays at each prize
level, as well as the funding required to meet a guaranteed Annuity
Grand Prize as may be required by subsection (f)(1) of this section.
(1) Mega Millions Prize Pool Accounts and Prize Reserve
Accounts. The Product Group shall set the contribution rates to the
Prize Pool and Prize Reserve Accounts established by this section.
(A) The following Prize Reserve Account for the Mega
Millions game is hereby established: the Prize Reserve Account (PRA)
which is used to guarantee the payment of valid, but unanticipated,
Grand Prize claims that may result from a system error or other reason,
to fund deficiencies in the Set-Aside Pool, and to fund pari-mutuel
prize deficiencies as defined and limited in subsections (d)(3)(A)
and (k)(9)(B)(i) of this section.
(B) The following Prize Pool Accounts for the Mega
Millions game are hereby established:
(i) The Grand Prize Pool (GPP), which is used to fund
the current Grand Prize;
(ii) The Set Prize Pool (SPP), which is used the fund
the Set Prizes. The SPP shall hold the temporary balances that may
result from having fewer than expected winners in the Set Prize (aka
low-tier prize) categories. The source of the SPP is the Party Lottery's
weekly prize contributions less actual Set Prize liability; and
(iii) The Set-Aside Pool (SAP), which is used to fund
the payment of the awarded minimum starting Annuity Grand Prizes and
the minimum Annuity Grand Prize increase, if necessary (subject to
the limitations in this section or the MUSL MM Rules), as may be set
by the Product Group. The source of the SAP funding shall accumulate
from the difference between the amount in the Grand Prize Pool at
the time of a Grand Prize win and the amount needed to fund Grand
Prize payments as determined by the Mega Millions Lotteries.
(C) The above Prize Reserve Account shall have maximum
balance amounts or balance limiter triggers that are set by the Product
Group and are detailed in the Comments to MUSL MM Rule 28. The maximum
balance amounts and balance limit triggers are subject to review by
the MUSL Board Finance and Audit Committee. The Finance and Audit
Committee shall have two weeks to state objections, if any, to the
approved maximum balance amounts or balance limiter triggers. Approved
maximum balance amounts or balance limiter triggers shall become effective
no sooner than two weeks after notice is given to the Finance and
Audit Committee and no objection is stated or sooner if the Committee
affirmatively approves the maximum balance amounts or balance limiter
triggers. The Product Group may appeal the Committee's objections
to the full Board. Group approved changes in the maximum balance amounts
or balance limiter triggers set by the Product Group shall be effective
only after the next Grand Prize win.
(D) The contribution rate to the GPP from MM Plays
shall be 37.6509% of sales. An amount up to five percent (5%) of a
Party Lottery's sales, including any specific statutorily mandated
tax of a Party Lottery to be included in the price of a lottery play,
shall be added to a Party Lottery's Mega Millions Prize Pool contribution
and placed in trust in one or more prize pool and prize reserve accounts
held by the Product Group at any time that the Party Lottery's share
of the PRA is below the amounts designated by the Product Group. Details
shall be noted in the Comments to MUSL MM Rule 28.
(E) The Product Group may determine to expend all or
a portion of the funds in the prize pools (except the GPP) and the
prize reserve accounts:
(i) for the purpose of indemnifying the Party Lotteries
in the payment of prizes to be made by the Selling Lotteries; and
(ii) for the payment of prizes or special prizes in
the game, limited to prize pool and prize reserve contributions from
lotteries participating in the special prize promotion, subject to
the approval of the Board's Finance & Audit Committee or that
Committee's failure to object after given two weeks' notice of the
planned action, which actions may be appealed to the full Board by
the Product Group.
(F) The prize reserve shares of a Party Lottery may
be adjusted with refunds to the Party Lottery from the prize reserve
account(s) as may be needed to maintain the approved maximum balance
and sales percentage shares of the Party Lotteries.
(G) A Party Lottery may contribute to its sales percentage
share of prize reserve accounts over time, but in the event of a draw
down from a reserve account, a Party Lottery is responsible for its
full sales percentage share of the prize reserve account, whether
or not it has been paid in full.
(H) Any amount remaining in the Mega Millions prize
pool accounts or prize reserve accounts when the Product Group declares
the end of the game shall be returned to the lotteries participating
in the prize pool and prize reserve accounts after the end of all
claim periods of all Selling Lotteries, carried forward to a replacement
game, or otherwise expended in a manner at the election of the individual
Members of the Product Group in accordance with jurisdiction statute.
(2) Expected Prize Payout Percentages. The Grand Prize
payout shall be determined on a pari-mutuel basis. Except as otherwise
provided in this section, all other prizes awarded shall be paid as
single payment prizes. All prize payouts are made with the following
expected prize payout percentages, which does not include an additional
amount held in prize reserves, although the prize payout percentages
per draw may vary:
Attached Graphic
(A) The Grand Prize amount shall be divided equally
by the number of MM Plays and JJ Plays winning the Grand Prize.
(B) The SPP (for payment of single payment prizes of
one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) or less) shall be carried forward
to subsequent draws if all or a portion of it is not needed to pay
the set prizes awarded in the current draw.
(3) Pari-mutuel Prize Determinations. Except as otherwise
provided for in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph below:
(A) If the total of the Mega Millions Set Prizes (as
multiplied by the respective Megaplier multiplier, if applicable)
awarded in a drawing exceeds the percentage of the prize pool allocated
to the Mega Millions Set Prizes, then the amount needed to fund the
Mega Millions Set Prizes, including Megaplier prizes, awarded shall
be drawn from the following sources, in the following order:
(i) the amount available in the SPP and the Megaplier
Prize Pool, if any;
(ii) an amount from the PRA, if available, not to exceed
forty million dollars ($40,000,000.00) per drawing.
(B) If, after these sources are depleted, there are
not sufficient funds to pay the Set Prizes, including Megaplier prizes,
then the highest Set Prize shall become a pari-mutuel prize. If the
amount of the highest Set Prize, including Megaplier prizes, when
paid on a pari-mutuel basis, drops to or below the next highest Set
Prize and there are still not sufficient funds to pay the remaining
Set Prizes awarded, then the next highest Set Prize shall become a
pari-mutuel prize. This procedure shall continue down through all
Set Prize levels, if necessary, until all Set Prize levels become
pari-mutuel prize levels. In that instance, the money available from
the funding sources listed in this section shall be divided among
the winning MM Plays in proportion to their respective prize percentages.
Mega Millions and Megaplier prizes will be reduced by the same percentage.
Cont'd... |
