Delaware State Lottery Office
Statutory Authority: 29 Delaware Code,Section 4805(a) (29 Del.C. 4805(a))
Payment of Prizes, Powerball game
The Delaware State Lottery Office proposes to amend Delaware Lottery Rule 23 regarding the payment of prizes in the Lottery’s Powerball game. The rule merely tracks a recent change in the operation of the Powerball game for the payment of prizes. The Lottery will receive written public comments from August 1, 1999 through August 30, 1999. Comments should be sent to Wayne Lemons, Director-Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904-1903. Copies of the proposed rule can be obtained from the Lottery office at that address.
(23) Payment of Prizes
(a) All prizes shall be paid within a reasonable time after they are awarded and after the claims are verified by the Director. For each prize requiring annual payments, all payments after the first payment shall be made on the anniversary date of the first payment in accordance with the type of prize awarded. The Director may, at any time, delay any payment 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 attention. All delayed payments will be brought up to date immediately upon the Director’s confirmation and continue to be paid on each original anniversary date.
(b) For Grand Prizes in the Lottery’s Powerball game, those prizes shall be paid at the election of the player made no later than 60 days after the player becomes entitled to the prize with either a per winner annuity or cash payment. If the payment election is not made at the time of purchase and is not made by the player within 60 days after the player becomes entitled to the prize, then the prize shall be paid as an annuity prize. An election for an annuity payment made by a player before ticket purchase or by system default or design may be changed to a cash payment at the election of the player until the expiration of 60 days after the player becomes entitled to the prize. The election to take the cash payment may be made at the time of the prize claim or within 60 days after the player becomes entitled to the prize. An election made after the winner becomes entitled to the prize is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn or otherwise changed. Shares of the Grand Prize shall be determined by dividing the cash available in the Grand Prize pool equally among all winners of the Grand Prize. Winner(s) who elected a cash payment shall be paid their share(s) in a single cash payment. The annuitized option prize shall be determined in accordance with the rules and procedures approved by the Multi-State Lottery Association, of which the Delaware Lottery is a participating member. Neither the Multi-State Lottery Association nor the member lotteries including the Delaware Lottery 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 the Multi-State Lottery Association. In certain instances announced by the Multi-State Lottery Association Product Group, the Grand Prize shall be a guaranteed amount and shall be determined pursuant to MUSL rules and procedures. If individual shares of the cash held to fund an annuity is less than $250,000, the MUSL Product Group, in its sole discretion, may elect to pay the winners their share of the cash held in the Grand Prize pool. All annuitized prizes shall be paid annually in twenty-five equal payments with the initial payment being made in cash, to be followed by twenty-four payments funded by the annuity.