Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 36, September 6, 2024
Section 179-1-5 - Instant Games5.1. The Director may select, operate and contract to and for the operation of instant games which meet the criteria generally set forth in this section.5.2. Instant game criteria. 5.2.a. The price of an instant game lottery ticket shall not be more than $50.00 except by special promotions authorized by the Director.5.2.b. Winners of an instant game are determined by the matching or specified alignment of the play numbers, digits and symbols on the lottery ticket. The ticket bearer shall notify the Lottery of the win and submit the winning lottery ticket to the Lottery as specified by the Director. The winning lottery ticket shall be validated by the Lottery through the use of the validation number and any other means as specified by the Director.5.2.c. The instant game shall be designed to pay out prizes in amounts on a numerical frequency to be determined by the Director.5.2.d. The duration of lottery ticket sales for an instant game shall be determined by the Director. The start date and closing date of the instant game shall be publicly announced.5.2.e. The frequency of drawing and the method of selection of a winner in any instant game shall be determined by the Director in specific game rules.5.2.f. At the Director's discretion, an instant game may include a special prize drawing or drawings as well as other methods of awarding the moneys accumulated in the unclaimed prize fund which will also stimulate the broad variety of games offered by the West Virginia Lottery. The Director shall follow Commission procedure for the payment of additional prizes from the unclaimed prize fund within the game rules structure.5.2.g. The procedures for claiming instant prizes are as follows: 5.2.g.1. A claimant shall present the winning lottery ticket for a prize of $600 or less to any lottery retailer or licensed lottery sales agent or mail the signed lottery ticket to the Director. Additionally, selected retailers approved by the commission may redeem lottery tickets for a prize of $600 to $5,000. The lottery retailer or licensed lottery sales agent shall verify the claim and, if the claim is a valid winner, make payment of the amount due the claimant. In the event the lottery retailer or licensed lottery sales agent cannot verify the claim, the claimant shall fill out a claim form, as provided by the Director, which may be obtained from any lottery retailer or licensed lottery sales agent and present or mail the completed form, together with the disputed lottery ticket to the Director. A payment in the form of a check, EFT and/or an ACH payment or credit to an established iLottery account shall be made to the claimant in payment of the amount due if the claim is validated by the Director. In the event that the claim is not validated by the Director, the claimant shall be promptly notified that his or her claim is denied.5.2.g.2. The claimant of a prize of more than $600 shall complete a claim form and mail or present the form together with the winning lottery ticket to the Director, or designee. Upon validation by the Director, a check shall be forwarded to the claimant in payment of the amount due, less any applicable federal and state income tax withholdings and less any withholding requested by the child support enforcement division. In the event that the claim is not validated by the Director, the claim shall be denied and the claimant shall be notified within five (5) days of the determination.5.2.g.3. Any lottery ticket not passing all the validation checks specified by the Director is invalid and ineligible for any prize and shall not be paid. However, the Director may, solely at his or her option, replace an invalid lottery ticket with an unplayed lottery ticket or tickets of equivalent sales price from any other current game or issue a refund of the sales price. In the event a defective lottery ticket is purchased, the only responsibility or liability of the Director is the replacement of the defective lottery ticket with another unplayed lottery ticket or tickets of equivalent sale price from any other current game.5.3. Confidentiality of tickets. No licensed lottery sales agent or lottery retailer or its employees or agents shall attempt to ascertain the numbers or symbols appearing in the designated areas under the removable latex coverings or otherwise attempt to identify winning lottery tickets by any means.5.4. The Director is not required to provide Commission members with copies of specific rules for instant games.5.5. Official end of game. 5.5.a. The Director shall announce the official end of each instant game. A player may submit a winning lottery ticket of $600 or less to the licensed lottery sales agent or lottery retailer from whom the lottery ticket was purchased or to the Lottery's administrative office or other designated site and a winning lottery ticket of more than $600 to the Lottery's administrative office or other designated site for prize payment up to one hundred eighty (180) days after the official end of game. In order to participate in a special prize drawing, a player shall redeem a lottery ticket which qualifies for entry into that special prize drawing within the time limits set forth by the Director governing the conduct of that specific game.5.5.b. A lottery retailer or licensed lottery sales agent may continue to sell lottery tickets for each instant game up to one hundred eighty (180) days after the official end of that game.5.5.c. A licensed lottery sales agent or lottery retailer shall return to the Lottery full packs of unsold and unopened lottery tickets for each game within thirty (30) days of the official end of that game in order to receive credit from the Lottery as provided for in the licensed lottery sales agent or lottery retailer contract. The Lottery has no obligation to grant credit for lottery tickets returned more than thirty (30) days after the official end of that game.5.6.Lottery Ticket validation requirements. Any lottery ticket not passing all the validation requirements in this subsection and the specific validation requirements contained in the rules for its specific game is invalid and ineligible for any prize. To be a valid West Virginia Lottery instant game lottery ticket, it shall meet all of the following validation requirements: 5.6.a. The lottery ticket was issued by the Director in an authorized manner;5.6.b. The lottery ticket is not to be altered, mutilated, unreadable, reconstructed, or tampered with in any manner;5.6.c. The lottery ticket is not counterfeit in whole or in part;5.6.d. The lottery ticket is not stolen nor appears in any list of omitted lottery tickets on file with the Lottery;5.6.e. The lottery ticket is complete and not blank or partially blank, miscut, misregistered, defective, or printed or produced in error;5.6.f. The lottery ticket has the correct number of play symbols, a readable bar code or equivalent symbol. The symbols must be present in their entirety, legible, right-side up, and not reversed in any manner;5.6.g. The validation number of an apparent winning lottery ticket appears on the Lottery's official list of validation numbers of winning lottery tickets; and a lottery ticket with that validation number has not been previously paid; and,5.6.h. The lottery ticket passes all additional confidential validation requirements established by the Director.5.7. Any lottery ticket not passing all the validation requirements in subsection 5.6 of this section and the specific validation requirements contained in the rules for its specific game is invalid and ineligible for any prize.