P.R. Laws tit. 15, § 810
The Additional Lottery tickets shall be deemed as bearer bonds and the person who holds said ticket and presents it for collection shall be recognized as the sole owner of the prize. No prize whatsoever shall be adjudicated nor paid to the person claiming said prize if he/she does not present the winning ticket and it is validated through the established system. The Secretary shall establish the system for verifying the validity and legality of the winning tickets, as well as the place, form and manner that the payments shall be made, through regulations.
It may be provided that the prizes may be paid by the vendor as well as by banking institutions and private entities established in Puerto Rico that are willing to do so through an agreement with the Secretary and pursuant to the rules promulgated by him/her.
The right to collect a prize shall expire in one hundred and eighty (180) days, counted from the day following the date that the corresponding drawing is verified, and any unclaimed prize money shall remain for the benefit of the Government of Puerto Rico; Provided, That before covering the Additional Lottery unclaimed prize money into the General Fund, the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in the first year; two million dollars ($2,000,000) the second year; and three million dollars ($3,000,000) in the third and subsequent years, shall be covered into an account different and separate from any other account or funds of the Commonwealth Government, denominated as the Special Fund for the Development of Minor Leagues, which shall be administered by the Sports and Recreation Department, to promote activities related to recreation and sports on the Island, thus emphasizing those activities aimed at persons with disabilities. The Sports and Recreation Department shall annually submit a report on the intended use for the resources that shall be covered into the special account, to both the Office of Management and Budget and the Legislature through the Office of the Secretary of the Senate or the Office of the Clerk of the House. The required annual report shall be filed not later than January 30 of each year; and the remainder of unused funds as of said date shall be covered into the General Fund of the Commonwealth.
Once the prize is paid off or the abovestated term of one hundred and eighty (180) days has elapsed, the Commonwealth shall be released from any liability.
History —May 24, 1989, No. 10, p. 44, § 10, renumbered as § 11 and amended on Aug. 17, 1989, No. 75, p. 326, § 8; June 26, 1997, No. 23, § 2; Nov. 30, 2006, No. 258, § 1.