OAR 177-085-0035: Powerball Prize Payment

(1) Selection of Payment Type: Except as provided otherwise in section (2) of this rule, the Grand Prizes shall be paid, at the election of the player made no later than 60 days after validation of the prize, with either a per-winner annuity or single lump sum payment. If the payment election is not made by the player within 60 days after validation, then the prize shall be paid as an annuity prize. The election to take the single lump sum payment may be made at the time of validation of the prize claim or within 60 days thereafter. An election made after validation is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn, or otherwise changed. (2) Multiple Claimants: Unless an exception is approved, when a Grand Prize is claimed jointly in accordance with OAR 177-046-0110(5), each claimant must select the same payment option, either single lump sum or annuity. (3) Share of the Grand Prize: Shares of the Grand Prize shall be determined by dividing the amount available in the Grand Prize Pool Account equally among all tickets with winning game plays of the Grand Prize. (4) Lump Sum Payment: Winner(s) who elect a lump sum payment shall be paid their share(s) in a single lump sum payment. (5) Annuity Payment: The annuitized option prize shall be determined by multiplying a winner’s share of the Grand Prize Pool Account by a process as approved by the MUSL Board. Neither MUSL nor the Party Lotteries or the Licensee Lotteries shall be responsible or liable for changes in the advertised or estimated annuity prize amount and the actual amount purchased after the prize payment method is actually known to MUSL. In certain instances announced by the Product Group, the Grand Prize shall be a guaranteed amount and shall be determined pursuant to section (12) of this rule. If individual shares of the Grand Prize Pool Account funds held to fund an annuity are less than $250,000.00, the Product Group, in its sole discretion, may elect to pay the winners their share of the amount held in the Grand Prize Pool Account. (6) Initial and Annual Payments: Except as may be controlled by statute, all annuitized prizes shall be paid annually in thirty payments with the initial payment being made directly with available funds, to be followed by twenty-nine payments funded by the annuity. All annuitized prizes shall be paid annually in thirty graduated payments (increasing each year) by a rate as determined by the Product Group. Prize payments may be rounded down to the nearest $1,000. Annual payments after the initial payment shall be made by the lottery on the anniversary date of the first payment or if such date falls on a non-business day, then the first business day following the anniversary date of the first payment. Funds for the initial payment of an annuitized prize or the lump sum payment prize shall be made available by MUSL for payment by the Selling Lottery no earlier than the 15th calendar day (or the next banking day if the fifteenth day is a holiday) following the drawing. (7) Lack of Available Funds: If necessary, when the due date for the payment of a prize occurs before the receipt of sufficient funds in the prize pool trust to pay the prize, then the transfer of funds for the payment of the full lump sum payment amount may be delayed pending receipt of funds from the Selling Lotteries. The Lottery may elect to make the initial payment from its own funds after validation, with notice to MUSL. (8) Death of Winner: In the event of the death of a lottery winner during the annuity payment period, unless prohibited by state law, the MUSL Finance and Audit Committee, in its sole discretion excepting a discretionary review by the Product Group, upon the petition of the estate of the lottery winner (the “Estate”) or the persons identified on the winner’s Beneficiary Designation form (BDF), whichever is applicable, to the state lottery of the state in which the deceased lottery winner purchased the winning ticket, and subject to applicable federal, state, or district laws, may make payment to the Estate or the designated beneficiary of the discounted present value of the remaining annuitized prize payments. If a determination is made, then securities and/or amounts held to fund the deceased lottery winner’s annuitized prize may be distributed to the Estate or the persons on the BDF. The identification of the securities, if any, to fund the annuitized prize is at the sole discretion of the MUSL Finance and Audit Committee or the Product Group. (9) Low-Tier Prizes: All prizes are paid directly through the Lottery that sold the winning ticket, and at the discretion of the Selling Lottery may be paid by cash, check, warrant, or electronic transfer. The Lottery may begin paying low-tier prizes after receiving authorization to pay from the MUSL central office. (10) Rounding of Powerball® Grand Prize Payments: 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 payment to the winner or winners. Prizes other than the Grand Prize which, under OAR 177-085-0025(4)(c) and OAR 177-085-0065(11) , 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. (11) Roll Over of Powerball® Grand Prize: 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 Account for the following drawing. (12) Guaranteed Powerball® Prizes: (a) The Product 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 Product Group finds that it would be in the best interest of the game. (b) If a minimum Grand Prize amount or a minimum increase in the Grand prize amount between drawings is offered by the Product Group, then the Grand Prize amount shall be determined as follows: (A) All Winners Select Annuity: If there are multiple Grand Prize winners during a single drawing, each selecting the annuitized option prize, then a winner’s share of the guaranteed annuitized Grand Prize shall be determined by dividing the guaranteed annuitized Grand Prize by the number of tickets with winning game plays. (B) Mix of Lump Sum and Annuity: If there are multiple Grand Prize winners during a single drawing and at least one of the Grand Prize winners has elected the annuitized option prize, then the MUSL annuity factor shall 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 approved by the MUSL Board. (C) No Winners Select Annuity: If no winner of the Grand Prize during a single drawing has elected the annuitized option prize, then the amount of the cash in the Grand Prize Pool Account shall be an amount equal to the guaranteed annuitized amount divided by the MUSL annuity factor. (c) Changes in Allocation of Prizes: Minimum guaranteed prizes or increases may be waived if the alternate funding mechanism set out in OAR 177-085-0025(4)(c) becomes necessary. Approval of the Group is required to change the guaranteed minimum Grand Prize amounts or minimum increases in the Grand Prize amount. Effective after the drawing on April 8, 2020, the Group may increase, decrease, or eliminate the guaranteed minimum Grand Prize amount of any announced minimum Grand Prize increases effective at any time following the next drawing following the action taken by the Group. (d) Funding of Guaranteed Grand Prizes: If the amount in the Grand Prize Pool Account, Grand Prize Carry Forward Pool Account, and Set Aside Pool Account and contributions from Licensee Lotteries who are not participating in the Prize Reserve Account are insufficient to fund the amount required by awarded Guaranteed Grand Prize(s), then the Prize Reserve Account, and thereafter contributions from individual Member Lotteries and Licensee Lotteries participating in the Prize Reserve Account, may be required to fund Guaranteed Grand Prize award deficiencies. Contributions from the Prize Reserve Account shall first be utilized, and then from individual Member Lotteries and Licensee Lotteries participating in the Prize Reserve Account if necessary. Contributions required from the Prize Reserve Account or from Member Lotteries and Licensee Lotteries participating in the Prize Reserve Account shall be determined on a pro rata basis based on sales since the most recent Grant Prize win. (13) One Prize per Board: The holder of a winning ticket may win only one 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 (14) Claim Expires in One Year: Claims for all prize categories, including the Grand Prize, must be submitted within one year after the date of the drawing.