Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10,
2024
BASIS AND PURPOSE OF RULE 5
The purpose for Rule 5 is to provide details and requirements
for all Colorado Lottery Instant Scratch Games, such as the sale of Tickets,
payment of Prizes, and the method for selecting and validating winning Tickets.
The statutory basis for Rule 5 is found in C.R.S.
44-40-109(1), (2) and
(3),
44-40-113 and
44-40-114.
5.1
General Provisions
Instant Scratch Games will be conducted pursuant to the
following Rules and Regulations, specific Instant Scratch Game Guidelines, and
any further instructions and directives issued by the Colorado Lottery Director
and/or Colorado Lottery Commission.
A.
The Commission will adopt each Instant Scratch Game Guideline prior to
launching an Instant Scratch Game. Instant Scratch Game Guidelines will define,
at a minimum, determination of an instant Prize Winner, price of Ticket, number
and sizes of Prizes, Ticket Validation requirements, and prize
structure.
B. If a conflict arises
between Rule 5 and the Instant Scratch Game Guideline, the Instant Scratch Game
Guideline shall apply.
For the purpose of this Rule 5 "Ticket" shall mean Instant
Scratch Ticket.
5.2
Definitions
In addition to definitions provided Rule 1, the following
definitions apply to Instant Scratch Games.
A. "Instant Scratch Drawing Guideline" means
the additional guideline for Second-Chance or Promotional Drawings that are
associated with a specific Instant Scratch Game.
B. "Instant Scratch Game" means an individual
Instant Scratch Game as described in the individual Instant Scratch Game
Guideline.
C. "Instant Scratch Game
Guideline" means the additional guideline that includes detailed information
about that particular Instant Scratch Game.
D. "Play Area" means the area on a Ticket
covered with a latex coating that is removed by the player.
E. "Prize Fund" means the amount of money
allocated for Prizes as defined in the Prize Structure.
F. "Prize Structure" means the number and
amount of available Prizes within a specific Instant Scratch Game.
G. "Retailer Validation Code" means the
computer-generated images on the Ticket play area used to sight validate a
specific Prize amount.
H.
"Second-Chance Drawing Guidelines" means guidelines for a drawing where the
Prize is part of the Instant Scratch Game prize structure.
I. "Validation Number" means the unique
number identified within the VIRN which is used to validate the
Ticket.
J. "Void If Removed Number"
(VIRN) means the unique number on the front of the Ticket under the latex cover
within the play area.
5.3
Price of Tickets &
Prizes
A. The purchase price of each
Ticket shall be set forth in the Instant Scratch Game Guideline for each
specific game.
B. The number of
Prizes for each Instant Scratch Game shall be set forth in the Instant Scratch
Game Guideline for each specific game.
5.4
Promotional Opportunities
5.4.1
Second-Chance and Promotional
DrawingsA. Prize(s) for second-chance
and promotional drawings shall be set forth in the Instant Scratch Drawing
Guideline.
1. Details for second-chance and
promotional drawings, including but not limited to, eligibility, drawing
procedures, determination of winners, and fulfillment of Prizes are defined in
the Instant Scratch Drawing Guideline.
5.4.2.
Use of Coupons and Free
TicketsA. Coupons and free Tickets
(hereafter referred to as "coupons") are marketing tools used by the Lottery
for promotions.
B. All coupons,
when used for promotions, must be given to the consumer or public. In the event
the Lottery uses a promotional partner to distribute coupons, the promotional
partner must ensure all coupons are issued to the consumer or public and any
unused coupons are returned to the Lottery.
C. At no time may coupons be sold, used to
purchase goods or services, pay off Lottery debts or reimburse a Licensee for
any loss.
D. At no time may a
co-promoter, who has received a cash payment from the Lottery or a Lottery
contractor as part of a promotional agreement, use the cash payment to purchase
Tickets for the promotion that the payment funded.
5.4.3
Redemption of Bar-Coded
Coupons
The Director may from time to time authorize the use of
bar-coded coupons to promote the Lottery's products. In the event such use is
authorized by the Director, Licensees shall comply with all requirements and
restrictions specified on the coupon and shall redeem and exchange bar-coded
coupons for the Lottery's Tickets only and not for cash.
5.5
Sale of Tickets
A. Licensees shall make Tickets available for
sale to the public during the Licensee's normal business hours.
B. A Licensee shall sell Tickets only at the
premises specified in the license.
C. All Ticket sales are final and the return
of a Ticket after sale shall not be accepted by the Licensee, unless otherwise
directed by the Director.
D. The
Lottery itself may sell Instant Scratch Tickets.
E. A Licensee may be permitted, upon prior
approval of the Director or designee, to use Tickets as a means of promoting
the sale of goods and services to the public.
5.6
Cancellation of Tickets
A Ticket may not be cancelled.
5.6.1
Mutilated Tickets
If a Ticket has been mutilated or altered in any way, credit
will not be issued to the Ticket Holder, unless the Director or designee is
satisfied that the Ticket is genuine. Tickets submitted to the Lottery for
credit becomes the property of the Lottery and the Ticket becomes invalid and
ineligible for a Prize.
5.7
Validation Requirements
A. To be a valid winning Ticket, all the
following conditions must be met:
1. The
Ticket must be intact and not be mutilated, altered, unreadable, reconstituted,
or tampered with in any manner;
2.
The Ticket must not be counterfeit in any way;
3. The Retailer Validation Code must appear
in the Play Area of the Ticket as described in the Instant Scratch Game
Guideline;
4. The Ticket must have
been issued by an authorized Instant Scratch Game Licensee in an authorized
manner;
5. The Ticket must not have
been acquired illegally or appear on any list of omitted Tickets at the
Lottery;
6. The Ticket must meet
all validation requirements in the Instant Scratch Game Guideline;
7. The Validation Number must appear in the
validation file;
8. Prizes will not
be paid twice on Tickets with the same Validation Number;
9. No portion of the Ticket may be blank and
the Ticket may not be mis-registered, defective, or printed/produced in error;
and
10. The Ticket must pass all
other confidential security checks of the Lottery.
B. Any Ticket failing one of the Validation
requirements listed in subsection A. above is invalid and the Claimant is
ineligible for a Prize.
C. In the
event a defective Ticket is purchased, the only responsibility or liability of
the Lottery or the Licensee shall be the replacement of the defective Ticket
with another Ticket of equivalent purchase price from any current Instant
Scratch Game.
D. No Prizes will be
awarded to the Ticket Holder of a defective Ticket.
5.8
Payment of Prizes
A. The Ticket Holder of a winning Ticket in
the amount of $599.00 or less may take the Ticket to any Licensee location
during the Licensee's normal business hours and game operation hours for
Validation and payment. The Licensee has the option of validating winning
Tickets in the amount of $151.00 to $599.00. All Prizes shall be paid by the
Licensee upon Validation of the Ticket pursuant to instructions on the back of
the Ticket and instructions specified in the specific Instant Scratch Game
Guideline.
B. A winning Ticket in
any amount also may be mailed or presented to a Lottery Claims Center for
payment. The Prizes shall be paid by the Lottery upon presentation and
Validation of the Ticket pursuant to instructions on the back of the Ticket and
instructions specified in the Instant Scratch Game Guideline.
C. In order to claim a Prize of $600.00 or
more, a Prize Winner, or their authorized representative shall complete a claim
form and submit the completed form and Ticket to the Colorado Lottery. The
Lottery shall pay the Prize upon completion of the claim form and Validation of
the Ticket pursuant to instructions on the back of the Ticket. If a Prize
Winner has outstanding obligations within the meaning of C.R.S.
44-40-113(6) and
44-40-114, the remaining balance
of any Prize will not be paid until such obligations are paid.
1. A Prize Winner, or a Prize Winner's
legally authorized representative, shall sign the winning Ticket and complete a
claim form that is available from any Licensee, Lottery Claim Center, or the
Colorado Lottery website. The claim form shall incorporate information used to
verify the following:
a. Verification that the
Prize Winner is not a Person disqualified by law or by these Rules and
Regulations to claim or otherwise accept a Prize from the Lottery;
b. Notification that the Prize Winner's name,
city of residence, and Prize amount are public information. This same
notification is given to one signing on behalf of a Prize Winner under a
disability that prevents the Prize Winner from signing on his/her own behalf;
and
c. The Lottery is not liable for
any loss caused by a misrepresentation by the Prize Winner or the Person
claiming the Prize on the Prize Winner's behalf.
2. The claim form may contain any other
provision that the Director or designee may deem necessary and proper to
promote the public interest and trust, and the security and efficient operation
of the Lottery.
3. Payment for a
winning Ticket will not occur unless all of the requirements on the claim form
and winning Ticket have been met or an acknowledgement that the information is
unknown or unavailable. There is no obligation or duty of the Lottery, its
employees or Licensees, to make any inquiry of the truthfulness of information
that appears on the claim form before payment to the Prize Winner.
D. If a Prize is paid in a lump
sum, payment will be made within a reasonable time of presentment or
Validation.
E. If a Prizewinner
chooses to be paid through an annuity, the annuitized payments shall be paid as
specified in the specific Instant Scratch Game Guideline.
F. The Director may delay any payment of a
Prize in order to review a change of circumstances relative to the Prize
awarded, the payee, the claim, or any other matter that may have come to his or
her attention.
G. The Director's
decision with respect to the payment of all Prizes shall be final and
binding.
H. The Director reserves
the right to require a Prize Winner to disclose the location or Person from
where the Ticket was purchased.
I.
Payment of any Prize shall be made to the Prize Winner of the Ticket. Any
liability of the State, its officers and employees, and the Commission shall
terminate upon payment.
5.8.1
Termination Date and Claims Period
A. The Director will announce an end-of-game
date for each Instant Scratch Game, after which date no further Tickets for
that game shall be issued nor activated.
1.
All Instant Scratch Game Prizes must be claimed within one hundred and eighty
(180) days after the announced end-of-game date. In the event of Force Majeure
the claim period will be extended at the Director's discretion.
2. Any Person who fails to claim a Prize
during the one hundred and eighty (180) day claim period shall forfeit all
rights to the Prize and the amount of the Prize shall remain in the Prize
Fund.
3. Prizes claimed by mail
must be documented as received by the Colorado Lottery by the one hundred and
eightieth (180th) day after the announced end-of-game date.
5.8.2
Assignment
of Prizes
A. The winner of a Prize
paid by annuity who desires to assign the right to unpaid future payments must
comply with C.R.S.
44-40-113(1)(b) and
(2). Pursuant to C.R.S.
44-40-113(2)(f),
reasonable fees to defray administrative expenses shall be reviewed and
approved by the Director on an annual basis.
B. The death of a Prize Winner does not
result in the acceleration of annuity payments. The Lottery will pay the
remaining annuity payments in accordance with law, and any liability of the
Lottery is discharged upon the final annuity payment.
5.8.3
Determination of Scratch Prize
Winners
A. Prize Winners for Instant
Scratch Games shall be determined as set forth in the specific Instant Scratch
Game Guideline and, if applicable, Instant Scratch Game Drawing
Guideline.
B. The number of times a
Person may win on a single Ticket shall be set forth in the specific Instant
Scratch Game Guideline.
C. The
determination of Prize Winners shall be subject to the general Ticket
Validation requirements set forth on the back of each Ticket and as set forth
in the Instant Scratch Game Guideline and, if applicable, the specific Instant
Scratch Game Drawing Guidelines.
5.10
Lost or Stolen Tickets
If a Ticket has been reported as lost or stolen, the Director
reserves the right to withhold payment of a Prize pending an investigation. At
the Director's discretion, Tickets that are determined to be stolen will not be
paid.