Fla. Admin. Code R. 53ER10-1
(1) Claiming Prizes. For purposes of this rule, the provisions for claiming a prize as set forth in Section 24.115(1)(f), F.S., will be deemed satisfied upon the claimant meeting the following requirements:
(a) On-line Game Prizes.
1. For on-line game prizes, the claimant must submit the winning on-line ticket for validation at a Lottery office or retailer on or before the 180th day after the winning drawing. Winning on-line tickets submitted to the Lottery by mail for validation must be addressed to the Lottery’s prize payment address in an envelope postmarked on or before the 180th day after the winning drawing.
2. If the claimant is not paid at the time of ticket validation, he or she must submit the validated on-line winning ticket, along with the documents specified in paragraph (14)(c) below, for prize payment at a Lottery office on or before the 210th day after the winning drawing. If the claimant chooses to submit the validated on-line winning ticket for prize payment by mail, the ticket and all required documents must be sent to the Lottery’s prize payment address and received by the Lottery on or before the 210th day after the winning drawing. Failure of a claimant to submit all required documentation, and receipt by the Lottery thereof, on or before the 210th day after the winning drawing shall result in forfeiture of the prize.
(b) Instant Game Prizes.
1. For instant game prizes, the claimant must submit the winning instant ticket for validation at a Lottery office or retailer on or before the 60th day after the official end of the game. Winning instant tickets submitted to the Lottery by mail for validation must be addressed to the Lottery’s prize payment address in an envelope postmarked on or before the 60th day after the official end of the game.
2. If the claimant is not paid at the time of ticket validation, he or she must submit the validated instant winning ticket, along with the documents specified in paragraph (14)(c) below, for prize payment at a Lottery office on or before the 90th day after the official end of the game. If the claimant chooses to submit the validated instant winning ticket for prize payment by mail, the ticket and all required documents must be sent to the Lottery’s prize payment address and received by the Lottery on or before the 90th day after the official end of the game. Failure of a claimant to submit all required documentation, and receipt by the Lottery thereof, on or before the 90th day after the official end of the game shall result in forfeiture of the prize.
(6) Free Ticket Claims – Florida Claimants. A person who submits by mail a lottery ticket that entitles the claimant to a prize of a “ticket” or “free ticket” and whose mailing address is inside the state of Florida will be mailed a prize of a ticket as follows:
(10) On-line Game Ticket Validation.
(11) Instant Game Ticket Validation.
(12) Disputes Regarding the Amount or Validity of Ticket.
(13) Winning Tickets Valued at Less than $600.
(a) Payment by Retailers.
1. Winning tickets of $50 or less that are submitted to a retailer shall be paid in cash by the retailer unless:
a. It is impossible or impracticable to do so due to a company or store policy which, for safety or security reasons, limits the amount of cash available to the clerk; or
b. It is impossible or impracticable to do so due to an applicable local government ordinance that limits the amount of cash available to the clerk.
2. Winning tickets with a value greater than $50 but less than $600 that are submitted to a retailer shall be paid by cash, check, or money order.
3. No charge or fee shall be imposed by a retailer on a player for paying a winning ticket. This prohibition includes charging a fee for a money order issued to the player in payment of a prize when that is the only method of prize payment made available by the retailer.
(b) Payment by the Florida Lottery.
1. Winning tickets of $100 or less that are presented to a Lottery district office will be paid by cash, check or issued lottery tickets at the claimant’s option.
2. Winning tickets with a value greater than $100 that are submitted to a Lottery district office shall be paid by check and/or issued lottery tickets, or paid a maximum of $100 in cash and the balance of the prize paid by check and/or issued lottery tickets at the claimant’s option.
3. Winning tickets of less than $600 that are submitted to Lottery Headquarters for payment shall be paid by check.
4. A player who submits a winning ticket of less than $600 in person to a Lottery district office for payment by check shall be required to present one form of identification from the list in subsection (15). The identification is required to ensure proper check distribution.
5. Winning tickets of less than $600 shall be subject to and paid in accordance with subsections (16), (17), (18) and (19) below.
Payment of any winning ticket valued at less than $600 that is submitted to a Lottery retailer, Lottery district office or Lottery Headquarters shall be made to the claimant upon successful ticket validation. Upon request by the Lottery, the claimant shall file a Winner Claim Form in accordance with the provisions set forth in paragraph (14)(c) below.
(14) Winning Tickets Valued at $600 or Greater.
(e) Winning tickets valued at $600 or more that are submitted to Lottery Headquarters shall be paid as follows and in accordance with subsections (16), (17), (18) and (19) below:
1. If the prize value is $600 through $100,000, payment shall be made by check.
2. If the prize value is greater than $50,000 or is a prize for which there is a lump-sum option, payment shall be made by check or wire or electronic funds transfer at the claimant’s option.
(15) Presentation of Identification.
(b) For prizes valued at $600 or more, one form of identification is required that is current or was issued within the past five years and bears a serial or other identifying number. Acceptable forms of identification include the following:
1. A Florida identification card or driver’s license issued by the public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses;
2. A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States;
3. A passport issued by a foreign government;
4. A driver’s license or an identification card issued by a public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses in a state other than Florida, a territory of the United States, or Canada or Mexico;
5. An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States; or
6. An identification card issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services; or
7. Another form of identification authorized for use by notaries public in Chapter 117, F.S.
(18) Ticket Submission and Payment. In accordance with the applicable provisions of subsections (13), (14) and (20) a claimant must submit an original winning ticket or an original continuation ticket, if issued, to the Lottery or to a retailer to claim a prize. In the event an original winning ticket or an original continuation ticket is not available for submission, a claimant must submit an original player claim instructions ticket produced from validation of an original winning ticket or original continuation ticket to the Lottery to claim a prize.
(c) If a claimant submits only an original player claim instructions ticket, the player claim instructions ticket will be validated and payment will be made in accordance with subsections (16), (17) and (18) and as follows:
1. For on-line prizes, if the absence of the original ticket or the original continuation ticket is determined to the Lottery’s satisfaction to be attributable to actions of a retailer, payment will be made following expiration of 30 days after the date the player claim instructions ticket is submitted for prize payment, or following expiration of 210 days after the winning draw date, whichever date occurs sooner.
2. For instant prizes, if the absence of the original ticket is determined to the Lottery’s satisfaction to be attributable to actions of a retailer, payment will be made following expiration of 30 days after the date the player claim instructions ticket is submitted for prize payment, or following expiration of 90 days after the official end of the game, whichever date occurs sooner.
3. If the absence of the original ticket or the original continuation ticket is attributable to any reason other than the actions of a retailer, payment will be made as follows:
a. For winning on-line tickets, payment will be made following expiration of 210 days after the winning draw date, provided that payment for the original winning ticket is not made before the expiration of 210 days.
b. For winning instant tickets, payment for prizes valued at $600 through $1,000 will be made following expiration of 180 days from the date the claim was filed or following expiration of 90 days after the official end of the game, whichever occurs sooner, provided that payment for the original winning ticket is not made before expiration of the 180-day or 90-day time period, whichever is applicable. Payment for prizes greater than $1,000 will be made following expiration of 90 days after the official end of the game, provided payment for the original winning ticket is not made before expiration of the 90-day time period.
4. If the original winning ticket or original continuation ticket is submitted prior to expiration of the time periods set forth in subparagraphs (18)(c)1., 2. and 3., an investigation will be conducted to determine to whom payment should be made, if anyone.
(d) If a claimant submits only an original advance play winning ticket that has been recorded as “paid” in the Lottery’s gaming system as the result of the issuance of a continuation ticket, an investigation will be conducted and payment will be made as follows:
1. If the investigation concludes to the Lottery’s satisfaction that the absence of the continuation ticket is attributable to actions of a retailer, payment will be made following expiration of 30 days after the date the original winning ticket is submitted for prize payment, or following expiration of 210 days after the winning draw date, whichever date occurs sooner, provided that payment for the continuation ticket is not made prior to the expiration time frames set forth above.
2. If the investigation concludes to the Lottery’s satisfaction that the absence of the continuation ticket is attributable to any reason other than the actions of a retailer, payment will be made following expiration of 210 days after the winning draw date, provided that payment for the continuation ticket is not made before the expiration of 210 days.
(e) In the event a claim for payment is made without an original ticket, an original continuation ticket, or a player claim instructions ticket, the claim will be denied unless the following occurs:
1. The claimant establishes to the Lottery’s satisfaction that the absence of the original ticket, the original continuation ticket, or the player claim instructions ticket is attributable to an act or omission of the Lottery. Acts or omissions of Lottery retailers shall not be considered attributable to the Lottery; and
2. The Lottery determines that the available evidence is sufficient to validate the claim.
If the Lottery determines that the provisions set forth in subparagraphs 1. and 2., above are sufficiently met, payment will be made to the claimant following the expiration of the applicable deadline set forth in subsection (1) for validating and submitting a winning ticket for prize payment.
(19) Determination of Prize Winner. The person to whom payment will be made for winning tickets submitted to the Lottery shall be determined as follows:
(d) On-line tickets.
1. If one player information section is completely filled out, payment shall be made to the person whose name appears first on the name line in the player information section that is completed.
2. If more than one player information section is completely filled out, payment shall be made to the person whose name appears first on the name line in the player information section nearest the top of the ticket.
3. If no player information section is completely filled out and more than one name appears on the back of the ticket, payment shall be made to the person whose name appears first on the name line in the player information section nearest the top of the ticket in which a name is present.
(j) Any claimant of a prize of $600 or more, and any person whose name appears on an Internal Revenue Service Form 5754 filed by a claimant and whose portion of the prize is $600 or more, will be compared to the State Owed Debt system. All persons ultimately entitled to receive Florida Lottery winnings from a claim valued at $600 or more filed by a legal entity, other than a corporation whose shares are publicly traded, will be compared to the State Owed Debt system. If such claimant or other person is identified as owing an outstanding debt to a state agency or owing child support collected through a court or spousal support or alimony as provided in Section 24.115(4), F.S., following deduction of federal tax withholding, the remaining prize amount will be allocated as follows:
1. If the debt is owed by the claimant and an Internal Revenue Service Form 5754 is not filed at the time the claim is submitted, an amount sufficient to cover the amount owed, up to the total remaining prize amount, will be transferred to the state agency owed the debt. Any monies remaining after federal tax withholding and after collection of the debt will be paid to the claimant.
2. If the debt is of a claimant who submits an Internal Revenue Service Form 5754 at the time of filing the claim, or of a person whose name appears on an Internal Revenue Service Form 5754 or who is entitled to receive Lottery winnings claimed by a legal entity, an amount sufficient to cover the claimant’s or other person’s debt, but not to exceed his or her percentage interest in the prize or entity, will be transferred to the state agency owed the debt. The monies remaining will be paid to the claimant and any other persons entitled to receive a portion of the Lottery winnings.
(20) Payment of On-line Game Multi-play Tickets Including a Cash Prize and a Free Quick Pick Ticket Prize. Additional payment provisions applicable only to winning on-line game multi-play tickets (tickets with more than one panel played for a single draw date) that include a cash prize and a prize of a free quick pick ticket are as follows:
(c) On-line game multi-play tickets with a total prize value of $600 or more shall be claimed at a Lottery office. Retailer locations cannot print free quick pick tickets that are part of a claim with a total value of $600 or more.
1. If the claim is submitted to a Lottery office in person and the on-line game multi-play ticket is successfully validated, the Lottery will pay the claimant the cash prize and give the claimant a ticket with one free quick pick play for the next available drawing of the same on-line game in which the prize was won for each free quick pick ticket prize.
2. If the claim is submitted by mail to a Lottery office and the on-line game multi-play ticket is successfully validated, the Lottery will pay the cash prize and, if the claimant’s address is in Florida, print a ticket with one free quick pick play for the next available drawing of the same on-line game in which the prize was won for each free quick pick ticket prize. The payment and the free ticket shall be mailed to the claimant by the Lottery, except as set forth in subsection (7) above. A free ticket shall be mailed prior to the drawing applicable to that ticket.
3. If the claimant is identified as owing an outstanding debt as set forth in paragraph (19)(j), in an amount less than the cash portion of the prize net of any federal income tax withholding, the non-cash portion of the prize and the amount owed to the claimant after his or her debt is satisfied and taxes have been withheld shall be awarded. If the claimant is identified as owing an outstanding debt in an amount greater than the cash portion of the prize net of any federal income tax withholding, the cash portion of the prize remaining after taxes have been withheld will be applied toward the outstanding debt as provided in Section 24.115(4), F.S., and the claimant will receive the remaining non-cash portion of the prize.
(23) Final Payment Decision. The Lottery’s decision and judgments in respect to the determination of a winning ticket or of any other dispute arising from payment or awarding of prizes shall be final and binding upon all participants in the lottery unless otherwise provided by law or these rules. In the event a question arises relative to a winning ticket, or the payment or awarding of any prize, the Lottery is authorized to:
(27) This emergency rule replaces Emergency Rule 53ER08-89, F.A.C.
Rulemaking Authority 24.105(9)(e), 24.109(1), 24.115(1) FS. Law Implemented 24.105(9)(e), 24.115(1),(4) FS. History–New 1-11-10, Replaces 53ER08-89, F.A.C.