§ 1613. Certification of prize winners; payment of prizes. a. It shall be the duty of the director to require that all prizes over five thousand dollars in any game be awarded to holders of winning tickets for that game as provided in this section and section sixteen hundred fourteen of this article. Within one week after any drawing or selection of prize winning lottery tickets, the division shall deliver to the comptroller a certified list of the tickets to which prizes are awarded and the amount of each such prize. Upon receipt of such certified list and voucher of the division, moneys sufficient for the payment of such prizes shall be paid to the division from the lottery prize account, upon audit and warrant of the comptroller. Moneys for the payment of lottery prizes shall be deposited by the director as provided in section sixteen hundred eleven of this article and the withdrawal of such moneys for the payment of prize winners shall be subject to a check signed by the director or such officers or employees of the division as the director may designate. The division shall each month provide the comptroller with a record of all such withdrawals from the director's accounts. Payment of prizes shall be made by the division to holders of the tickets to which prizes are awarded, except that payment of any prize drawn may be paid to the estate of a deceased prize winner, may be paid pursuant to a court order granted as a result of a proceeding as provided in subdivision d of this section, and except that any person pursuant to an appropriate judicial order may be paid the prize to which the winner is entitled. The division shall be discharged of all further liability upon payment of a prize pursuant to this subdivision.

Ask a criminal law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

b. If the person entitled to a prize on any winning ticket is under the age of eighteen years, and such prize is less than five thousand dollars, the division may make payment by delivery to an adult member of the minor's family or a guardian of the minor of a check or draft payable to the order of such minor. If the person entitled to a prize on any winning ticket is under the age of eighteen years and if such prize is five thousand dollars or more, the division may make payment to such minor by depositing the amount of the prize in any financial institution to the credit of an adult member of the minor's family or a guardian of the minor as custodian for such minor. The person so named as custodian shall have the same duties and powers as a person designated as a custodian in a manner prescribed by part six of Article 7 of the estates, powers and trusts law, and for purposes of this section the terms "adult", "member of a minor's family", and "guardian" and "financial institution" shall have the same meaning as in said part of said law. The division shall be discharged of all further liability upon payment of a prize to a minor pursuant to this subdivision.

c. 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the director may award and pay a "Lotto" prize to a claimant without a winning ticket, if:

(i) the claimant has filed a perfected claim therefor;

(ii) the perfected claim is for a first prize in excess of five million dollars;

(iii) at least one year has elapsed since the date of the drawing for which the prize is claimed;

(iv) no other perfected claim has been filed therefor; and

(v) the perfected claim has been authenticated by the division.

2. For purposes of this section, a "perfected claim" shall consist of a written request that the prize be awarded and paid to the claimant, accompanied by:

(i) a "Players Copy" of a claim validation report showing that the original winning lottery ticket was produced by the on-line lottery computer system at the same time and place as the validation of a previous first-prize claim in the "Daily Numbers" game;

(ii) "Lotto" play cards bearing the same number combinations as were played at such time and place immediately before or immediately following the validation of such "Daily Numbers" first prize claim;

(iii) a written statement from the licensed lottery sales agent stating that the agent believes the missing ticket was sold to the claimant;

(iv) a verified written statement explaining the circumstances under which the winning ticket was lost; and

(v) a filing fee of one hundred dollars.

3. Within thirty days of the receipt of a perfected claim, the division shall attempt to authenticate it by comparing it to the records of the division, including electronic information provided by its on-line service provider. A perfected claim may be deemed "authenticated" if:

(i) the "Players Copy" and "Lotto" play cards included therewith correspond to the records of the division; and

(ii) none of the information included in the perfected claim is contradicted by the records of the division.

4. The director may promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this subdivision.

d. 1. The right of any person to receive payments under a prize that is paid in installments over time by the division may be voluntarily assigned, in whole or in part, if the assignment is made to a person or entity designated pursuant to an order of the supreme court of the county where the assigning prize winner resides or where the headquarters of the division is located. A court may issue an order approving a voluntary assignment and directing the division to make prize payments in whole or in part to the designated assignee, if the court finds that all of the following conditions have been met:

(i) The assignment is in writing, is executed by the assignor, and is, by its terms, subject to the laws of this state.

(ii) The purchase price being paid for the payments being assigned represents a present value of the payments being assigned, discounted at an annual rate that does not exceed ten percentage points over the Wall Street Journal prime rate published on the business day prior to the date of execution of the contract.

(iii) The contract of assignment expressly states that the assignor has three business days after the contract was signed to cancel the assignment.

(iv) The assignor provides a sworn affidavit attesting that he or she:

(A) Is of sound mind, is in full command of his or her faculties, and is not acting under duress;

(B) Has been advised regarding the assignment by his or her own independent legal counsel, who is unrelated to and is not being compensated by the assignee or any of the assignee's affiliates, and has received independent financial or tax advice concerning the effects of the assignment from a lawyer or other professional who is unrelated to and is not being compensated by the assignee or any of the assignee's affiliates;

(C) Understands that he or she will not receive the prize payments or portions thereof for the years assigned;

(D) Understands and agrees that, with regard to the assigned payments, the division and its officials and employees will have no further liability or responsibility to make the assigned payments to him or her;

(E) Has been provided with a one-page written disclosure statement setting forth, in bold type of not less than fourteen points, the payments being assigned, by amounts and payment dates; the purchase price being paid; the rate of discount to present value, assuming daily compounding and funding on the contract date; and the amount, if any, of any origination or closing fees that will be charged to him or her; and

(F) Was advised in writing, at the time he or she signed the assignment contract, that he or she had the right to cancel the contract, without any further obligation, within three business days following the date on which the contract was signed.

(v) Written notice of the proposed assignment and any court hearing concerning the proposed assignment is provided to the division's counsel at least thirty days prior to any court hearing. The division is not required to appear in or be named as a party to any such action seeking judicial confirmation of an assignment under this subdivision, but may intervene as of right in any such proceeding.

2. A certified copy of a court order approving a voluntary assignment must be provided to the division no later than thirty days before the date on which the payment is to be made.

3. A court order obtained pursuant to this section, together with all such prior orders, shall not require the division to divide any single prize payment among more than three different persons. Nothing in this section shall prohibit substituting assignees as long as there are no more than three assignees at any one time for any one-prize payment.

4. If a husband and wife are co-owners of a prize, any assignment of the prize must be made jointly.

5. A voluntary assignment may not include portions of payments that are subject to offset on account of a defaulted or delinquent child support obligation, non-wage garnishment, or criminal restitution obligation or on account of a debt owed to a state agency. Each court order issued under paragraph one of this subdivision shall provide that any delinquent child support or criminal restitution obligations of the assigning prize winner and any debts owed to a state agency by the assigning prize winner, as of the date of the court order, shall be set off by the division first against remaining payments or portions thereof due the prize winner and then against payments due the assignee.

6. The division and its respective officials and employees shall be discharged of all liability upon payment of an assigned prize under this subdivision. The assignor and assignee shall hold harmless and indemnify the division, the state of New York, and its employees and agents from all claims, actions, suits, complaints, and liabilities related to the assignment.

7. The division may establish a reasonable fee to defray any administrative expenses associated with assignments made under this subdivision, including the cost to the division of any processing fee that may be imposed by a private annuity provider. The fee amount shall reflect the direct and indirect costs associated with processing assignments.

8. If at any time the Internal Revenue Service or a court of competent jurisdiction issues a determination letter, revenue ruling, other public ruling of the Internal Revenue Service, or published decision to the division or to any lottery prize winners declaring that the voluntary assignment of prizes will affect the federal income tax treatment of prize winners who do not assign their prizes, the division shall immediately file a copy of that letter, ruling, or published decision with the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the administrative office of court administration. A court may not issue an order authorizing a voluntary assignment under this subdivision after the date any such ruling, letter, or published decision is filed.

9. A contract of assignment in which the assignor is a lottery winner shall include a sworn affidavit from the assignee. The form of the affidavit shall include:

(i) A summary of assignee contacts with the winner;

(ii) A summary of any law suits, claims, and other legal actions from lottery winners regarding conduct of the assignee or its agents;

(iii) A statement that the assignee is in good standing in its state of domicile and with any other licensing or regulatory agency as may be required in the conduct of its business;

(iv) A brief business history of the assignee;

(v) A statement describing the nature of the business of the assignee; and

(vi) A statement of the assignee's privacy and non-harassment policies and express affirmation that the assignee has followed those policies in New York.

10. The assignee shall notify the division of its business location and mailing address for payment purposes during the entire course of the assignment. The division shall be discharged of all further liability upon payment of a prize pursuant to this subdivision.