01-003 Code Vt. R. 01-130-003-X
These rules establish the procedures and requirements for operating and playing Hot Lotto, a lotto game run by the Multi-State Lottery Association (hereinafter referred to as "MUSL"), of which the Vermont Lottery is a member. Generally, the Hot Lotto game shall be operated in accordance with any agreement between the State of Vermont and MUSL, the Constitution, the By-Laws of the Multi-State Lottery Association, the Multi-State Lottery Association Rules and applicable Vermont law.
The following definitions apply unless the context requires a different meaning or is otherwise inconsistent with the intention of the rules adopted by the Product Group.
Federal and jurisdictional withholding tax rates are subject to change and will be determined at the time the prize is awarded.
The "Withholding Taxes Paid" prize amount reported to the federal and jurisdictional revenue authorities by the Party Lottery as subject to income taxation shall reflect the amount paid to the prize winner and also the amount remitted as withholding taxes to the federal and jurisdictional authorities (if any) on behalf of the prize winner.
The Party Lottery and MUSL are not responsible for additional income or other taxes applicable in excess of the amount withheld and remitted by the Party Lottery that may be due when the prizewinner files all tax returns for the year the prize is claimed; Prizewinners should verify personal tax liability with a financial advisor.
For example, if a single Grand Prize winner wins the "Advertised Grand Prize" of $ 2,000,000.00 that has a gross prize value of $ 3,050,000.00, and the federal withholding tax rate is 25% and the jurisdictional tax rate is 6%, the Party Lottery will withhold and remit $ 762,500.00 in federal tax withholding, $ 183,000.00 in jurisdictional tax withholding and pay the prize winner $ 2,104,500.00 in a single cash prize payment (subject to any setoff requirements); at the end of the tax year the Party Lottery will communicate to the prizewinner a W-2G Form showing prize won of $ 3,050,000.00.
The Product Group has established the following prize reserve accounts for the Hot Lotto game: 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, and to fund deficiencies in low-tier prize payments (subject to the limitations of these rules); the Set-Aside Account, which is used to guarantee payment of the minimum or starting Grand Prize; the Hot Lotto Sizzler Rollover Account, which is described in Part III of these rules; and the Lower Tier Prize Pool, which holds the temporary balances that may result from having fewer than expected winners in the low-tier set prize categories. The source of the Lower Tier Prize Pool funds is the Party Lottery's weekly prize contribution less actual set prize liability.
Once the Party Lottery's share of the prize reserve accounts exceeds the designated amounts, the excess shall become part of the Grand Prize pool. The Product Group, with approval of the MUSL Finance & Audit Committee, may establish a maximum balance for the prize reserve account(s). The Product Group may determine to expend all or a portion of the funds in the reserve accounts for the purpose of indemnifying the Party Lotteries in the payment of prizes to be made by the participating lotteries, subject to the approval of the Board. The 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 shares of the Party Lotteries. Any amount remaining in a prize reserve account at the end of this game shall be carried forward to a replacement prize reserve account or expended in a manner as directed by the Product Group in accordance with state law.
Number of Matches Per Play | Prize Payment | Prize Pool Percentage Allocated to Prize |
All five (5) of first set plus one (1) of second set. | Gross Grand Prize Value* | 52.1188% |
All five (5) of first set and none of second set. | $ 30,000.00 | 3.7056% |
Any four (4) of first set plus one (1) of second set. | $ 3,000.00 | 4.3232% |
Any four (4) of first set and none of second set. | $ 100.00 | 2.5940% |
Any three (3) of first set plus one (1) of second set. | $ 50.00 | 2.9542% |
Any three (3) of first set and none of second set. | $ 6.00 | 6.3811% |
Any two (2) of first set plus one (1) of second set. | $ 6.00 | 4.7268% |
Any one (1) of first set plus one (1) of second set. | $ 3.00 | 11.5214% |
None of first set plus one (1) of second set. | $ 2.00 | 11.6750% |
* The above reflects the Gross Grand Prize Value; the "Advertised Grand Prize" is described elsewhere in these Rules. The Gross Grand Prize Value amount will be reduced by federal and jurisdictional withholding taxes (if any) that will be remitted by the Party Lottery on behalf of the prizewinner with the prizewinner receiving the residual amount as their Grand Prize payment (subject to offsets). The prize amount reported to the federal and jurisdictional revenue authorities by the Party Lottery as subject to income taxation shall reflect the amount paid to the prize winner (including any offsets) and also the amount remitted as withholding taxes to the federal and jurisdictional authorities (if any) on behalf of the prize winner.
The following table sets forth the probability of winning and the probable distribution of winners in and among each prize category, based upon the total number of possible combinations in Hot Lotto.
Number of Matches Per Ticket | Probability Distribution | Probable/Set Prize Amount |
All five (5) of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 29,144,841 | $ 7,594,954.50* ** |
All five (5) of first setand none of second set | 1: 1,619,157.833333 | $ 30,000.00 |
Any four (4) of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 138,784.957143 | $ 3,000.00 |
Any four (4) of first setand none of second set | 1: 7,710.275397 | $ 100.00 |
Any three (3) of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 3,384.998955 | $ 50.00 |
Any three (3) of first setplus and none of second set | 1: 188.055497 | $ 6.00 |
Any two (2) of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 253.874922 | $ 6.00 |
Any one (1) of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 52.076907 | $ 3.00 |
None of first set plusone (1) of second set | 1: 34.261123 | $ 2.00 |
Overall | 1: 17.217787 | |
* The Grand Prize amount does not include the Prize Reserve Account deduction or any other deductions, if any. ** The Gross Grand Prize Value amount reflects the "Gross Prize Value"; the "Advertised Grand Prize" and "Withholding Taxes Paid Prize" amounts are discussed elsewhere in these Rules, see infra. | ||
For past Hot Lotto Grand Prize winners who had elected an annuity payout of their Grand Prize, in the event of the death of a lottery winner during the annuity payment period, the Product Group, in its sole discretion, upon the petition of the estate of the lottery winner (the "Estate") to the state lottery of the state in which the deceased lottery winner purchased the winning ticket, and subject to federal, state, or district applicable laws, may accelerate the payment of all of the remaining lottery proceeds to the Estate. If the Product Group makes such a determination, then securities and/or cash held to fund the deceased lottery winner's annuitized prize may be distributed to the Estate. The identification of the securities to fund the annuitized prize shall be at the sole discretion of the Product Group.
The Gross Grand Prize Value amount, that is used to determine the Advertised Grand Prize amount, shall be a guaranteed amount, and the Product Group may offer guaranteed minimum Gross Grand Prize Value amounts or minimum increases in the Gross Grand Prize Value amount between drawings or make other changes in the allocation of prize money where the Product Group finds that it would be in the best interest of the game. Guaranteed Gross Grand Prize Value amounts shall be funded as determined by the Product Group.
Grand Prizewinner shares shall be determined as follows: If there are multiple Grand Prize winners during a single drawing, then a winner's share of the Grand Prize shall be determined by dividing the Gross Grand Prize Value by the number of winners. Each Grand Prizewinner's share shall be paid as a "Withholding Taxes paid" prize with applicable federal and jurisdictional withholding amounts reducing the amount of cash paid to the prize winner(s); see Section 3.7 (Withholding Taxes Paid Prizes) and infra. Minimum guaranteed prizes or increases may be waived if the alternate funding mechanism set out in Section 4.3(b) (Expected Prize Payout Percentages) becomes necessary.
In purchasing a ticket, the purchaser agrees to comply with and abide by all applicable Vermont laws, rules, regulations, procedures, and decisions by the Lottery.
The Hot Lotto Sizzler promotion is a limited extension of the Hot Lotto game and is conducted in accordance with the Hot Lotto Game Rules and other lottery rules applicable to the Hot Lotto Game except as may be amended herein. The promotion will begin at a time announced by the Lottery and will continue until discontinued by the Lottery. The promotion will offer to the owners of a qualifying play a chance to multiply the amount of any of the eight lump sum Set Prizes (the lump sum prizes normally paying $ 2.00 to $ 30,000.00) won in a drawing held during the promotion. The Grand Prize jackpot is not a Set Prize and will not be multiplied.
A qualifying play is any single Hot Lotto play for which the player pays an extra dollar for the Sizzler option play and that is recorded at the Lottery's central computer as a qualifying play.
A qualifying play that wins one (1) of the eight (8) lump sum Set Prizes will be multiplied by three (3). The Hot Lotto Group may change this multiplier number for special promotions from time to time
Hot Lotto Prize Amount | Pays Instead 3X | |
Match 5+0 | $ 30,000.00 | $ 90,000.00 |
Match 4+1 | $ 3,000.00 | $ 9,000.00 |
Match 4+0 | $ 100.00 | $ 300.00 |
Match 3+1 | $ 50.00 | $ 150.00 |
Match 3+0 | $ 6.00 | $ 18.00 |
Match 2+1 | $ 6.00 | $ 18.00 |
Match 1+1 | $ 3.00 | $ 9.00 |
Match 0+1 | $ 2.00 | $ 6.00 |
In certain rare instances, the Hot Lotto set prize amount may be less than the amount shown. In such case, the Sizzler prizes will be a multiple of the new Hot Lotto prize amount. For example, if the Match 5 of the first set and none of the second set Hot Lotto set prize amount of $ 30,000.00 becomes $ 27,000.00 under the rules of the Hot Lotto game, then a Sizzler player winning that prize would win $ 81,000.00 ($ 27,000.00 x 3).
01-003 Code Vt. R. 01-130-003-X
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 5, 2009 Secretary of State Rule Log #09-020
AMENDED: May 12, 2013 Secretary of State Rule Log #13-011