Current through Reg. 50, No. 060; March 26, 2024
(1) Reporting Requirement.
(a) Upon the theft, loss or damage of instant
lottery tickets the retailer shall immediately report the incident to the
Lottery Division of Security at (850)487-7752.
(b) For purposes of this rule, tickets that
have latex removed or that have been "scratched" are not considered "damaged
tickets" and shall not be accepted for retailer account adjustment.
(2) Inactive Tickets. If tickets
from a book are lost, stolen or damaged before the book has been activated, the
retailer will be charged a service fee equal to fifty percent (50%) of the
value of the book, less sales commission, except as follows:
(a) If the retailer provides the Lottery with
a copy of a police report reporting the theft of tickets, the retailer shall be
charged a non-refundable service fee of five dollars ($5.00) for each book
reported stolen.
(b) The retailer
will not be charged a service fee for books missing from a shipment provided
the retailer reports the books as missing to the Lottery within seven (7) days
of receipt of the shipment.
(c) A
retailer will not be charged a service fee for books damaged by the vendor
provided such damage is reported to the Lottery within seven (7) days of
receipt of the shipment containing the damaged books.
(3) Activated Ticket Books - Stolen.
(a) For any activated ticket book stolen, or
portion thereof, a retailer shall provide the Lottery's Division of Security
with the last ticket number sold from each stolen book, or report that entire
book(s) have been stolen, as appropriate. The Lottery will use this information
in conjunction with Lottery records regarding ticket validation history for the
stolen book(s) to determine the range of tickets to be placed in "stolen
status." Retailers will be charged for any tickets not placed in "stolen
status," less the retailer's sales commission(s).
(b) If a retailer settles a book and
subsequently reports the whole book, or portion thereof, as stolen; and upon
completion of the Lottery's determination of the ticket range to be placed in
"stolen status," the retailer will be charged for that portion of the book not
placed in "stolen status," less sales commission(s).
(c) The Lottery will monitor stolen
book/ticket reporting activity. At the Lottery's discretion, a retailer's
contract may be terminated for falsely reporting stolen
book(s)/ticket(s).
(4)
Activated Ticket Books - Lost or Damaged.
(a)
If tickets from a book that contains low tier winning tickets are lost or
damaged after the book has been activated, the retailer shall be charged the
retail value of the book of tickets multiplied by the percentage of low tier
winning tickets redeemed at the time the book is reported lost or damaged, less
the retailer's sales commission(s).
(b) If tickets from a book that does not
contain low tier winning tickets are lost or damaged after the book has been
activated, the retailer shall be charged the retail value of the number of
tickets that have been validated for payment at the time the book is reported
lost or damaged, less the retailer's sales commission(s).
(c) If a retailer settles a book that
contains low tier winning tickets and subsequently reports unsold tickets as
lost or damaged, the retailer will be credited an amount equal to the retail
value of the book less the amount calculated as set forth in paragraph (4)(a),
above.
(d) If a retailer settles a
book that does not contain low tier winning tickets and subsequently reports
unsold tickets as lost or damaged, the retailer will be credited an amount
equal to the retail value of the book less the amount calculated as set forth
in paragraph (4)(b), above.
(5) The retailer shall return to the Lottery
tickets recovered by the retailer subsequent to the tickets being reported
lost, stolen or damaged.
(6)
Payment for Tickets. Accounting for lost, stolen or damaged tickets will be
reflected on the retailer's weekly Settlement Report and will be shown as an
adjustment. No adjustment will be made to the retailer's account upon return to
the Lottery of active lost, stolen or damaged tickets recovered by the retailer
subsequent to the tickets being reported lost, stolen or damaged.
(7) In the event books of tickets are lost,
stolen or damaged for reasons arising out of force majeure, the Florida Lottery
reserves the right to waive the assessment of charges under this rule. In
determining whether to waive an assessment, the Lottery will consider factors
such as the number of previous occurrences of lost, stolen or damaged tickets
by the retailer in question, if any; whether the retailer had taken precautions
to prevent the occurrence of lost, stolen, or damaged tickets; and whether the
retailer had implemented loss prevention recommendations made by the Lottery
prior to the occurrence of lost, stolen, or damaged tickets. As used herein,
"force majeure" shall include acts of God, action of the elements, fire,
explosion, rationing, war, civil disturbance, or other similar
occurrences.
(8) This emergency
rule replaces Emergency Rule 53ER22-14.
Rulemaking Authority
24.109(1),
24.105(9)(j),
24.112(1) FS.
Law Implemented 24.112,
24.114
FS.