Section 3770.07 - Claiming of prizes - unclaimed lottery prizes fund(A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, lottery prize awards shall be claimed by the holder of the winning lottery product, or by the executor or administrator, or the trustee of a trust, of the estate of a deceased holder of a winning lottery product, in a manner to be determined by the state lottery commission, within one hundred eighty days after the date on which the prize award was announced if the lottery game is an online game, and within one hundred eighty days after the close of the game if the lottery game is an instant game. Any lottery prize award with a value that meets or exceeds the reportable winnings amounts set by 26 U.S.C. 6041, or a subsequent analogous section of the Internal Revenue Code, shall not be claimed by or paid to any person, as defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code or as defined by rule or order of the state lottery commission, until the name, address, and social security number of each beneficial owner of the prize award are documented for the commission. Except when a beneficial owner otherwise consents in writing, in the case of a claim for a lottery prize award made by one or more beneficial owners using a trust, the name, address, and social security number of each such beneficial owner in the commission's records as a result of such a disclosure are confidential and shall not be subject to inspection or copying under section 149.43 of the Revised Code as a public record.
Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1) of this section or as otherwise provided by law, the name and address of any individual claiming a lottery prize award are subject to inspection or copying under section 149.43 of the Revised Code as a public record.
(2) An eligible person serving on active military duty in any branch of the United States armed forces during a war or national emergency declared in accordance with federal law may submit a delayed claim for a lottery prize award. The eligible person shall do so by notifying the state lottery commission about the claim not later than the five hundred fortieth day after the date on which the prize award was announced if the lottery game is an online game or after the date on which the lottery game closed if the lottery game is an instant game.(3) If no valid claim to a lottery prize award is made within the prescribed period, the prize money, the cost of goods and services awarded as prizes, or, if goods or services awarded as prizes are resold by the state lottery commission, the proceeds from their sale shall be returned to the state lottery fund and distributed in accordance with section 3770.06 of the Revised Code.(4) The state lottery commission may share with other governmental agencies the name, address, and social security number of a beneficial owner disclosed to the commission under division (A)(1) of this section, as authorized under sections 3770.071 and 3770.073 of the Revised Code. Any shared information as disclosed pursuant to those sections that is made confidential by division (A)(1) of this section remains confidential and shall not be subject to inspection or copying under section 149.43 of the Revised Code as a public record unless the applicable beneficial owner otherwise provides written consent.(5) As used in this division: (a) "Eligible person" means a person who is entitled to a lottery prize award and who falls into either of the following categories:(i) While on active military duty in this state, the person, as the result of a war or national emergency declared in accordance with federal law, is transferred out of this state before the one hundred eightieth day after the date on which the winner of the lottery prize award is selected.(ii) While serving in the reserve forces in this state, the person, as the result of a war or national emergency declared in accordance with federal law, is placed on active military duty and is transferred out of this state before the expiration of the one hundred eightieth day after the date on which the prize drawing occurs for an online game or before the expiration of the one hundred eightieth day following the close of an instant game as determined by the commission.(b) "Active military duty" means that a person is covered by the "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act," 117 Stat. 2835 (2003), 50 U.S.C. 501 et seq., as amended, or the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994," 108 Stat. 3149, 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., as amended.(c) "Each beneficial owner" means the ultimate recipient or, if there is more than one, each ultimate recipient of a lottery prize award.(B) If a prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code, is under eighteen years of age, or is under some other legal disability, and the prize money or the cost of goods or services awarded as a prize exceeds one thousand dollars, the director of the state lottery commission shall order that payment be made to the order of the legal guardian of that prize winner. If the amount of the prize money or the cost of goods or services awarded as a prize is one thousand dollars or less, the director may order that payment be made to the order of the adult member, if any, of that prize winner's family legally responsible for the care of that prize winner.(C) No right of any prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code, to a prize award shall be the subject of a security interest or used as collateral.(D)(1) No right of any prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code, to a prize award shall be assignable except as follows: when the payment is to be made to the executor or administrator, or the trustee of a trust, of the estate of a prize winner; when the award of a prize is disputed, any person may be awarded a prize award to which another has claimed title, pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; when a person is awarded a prize award to which another has claimed title, pursuant to the order of a federal bankruptcy court under Title 11 of the United States Code; or as provided in sections 3770.10 to 3770.14 of the Revised Code.(2)(a) No right of any prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code, to a prize award with a remaining unpaid balance of less than one hundred thousand dollars shall be subject to garnishment, attachment, execution, withholding, or deduction except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code or when the director is to make a payment pursuant to section 3770.071 or 3770.073 of the Revised Code.(b) No right of any prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code, to a prize award with an unpaid balance of one hundred thousand dollars or more shall be subject to garnishment, attachment, execution, withholding, or deduction except as follows: as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code; when the director is to make a payment pursuant to section 3770.071 or 3770.073 of the Revised Code; or pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction located in this state in a proceeding in which the state lottery commission is a named party, in which case the garnishment, attachment, execution, withholding, or deduction pursuant to the order shall be subordinate to any payments to be made pursuant to section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, 3123.06, 3770.071, or 3770.073 of the Revised Code.(3) The state lottery commission may adopt and amend rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to implement division (D) of this section, to provide for payments from prize awards subject to garnishment, attachment, execution, withholding, or deduction, and to comply with any applicable requirements of federal law.(4) Upon making payments from a prize award as required by division (D) of this section, the director and the state lottery commission are discharged from all further liability for those payments, whether they are made to an executor, administrator, trustee, judgment creditor, or another person, or to the prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code.(5) The state lottery commission shall adopt rules pursuant to section 3770.03 of the Revised Code concerning the payment of prize awards upon the death of a prize winner, as defined in section 3770.10 of the Revised Code. Upon the death of a prize winner, the remainder of the prize winner's prize award, to the extent it is not subject to a transfer agreement under sections 3770.10 to 3770.14 of the Revised Code, may be paid to the executor, administrator, or trustee in the form of a discounted lump sum cash settlement.(E) No lottery prize award shall be awarded to or for any officer or employee of the state lottery commission, any officer or employee of the auditor of state actively auditing, coordinating, or observing commission drawings, or any blood relative or spouse of such an officer or employee of the commission or auditor of state living as a member of the officer's or employee's household, nor shall any such officer, employee, blood relative, or spouse attempt to claim a lottery prize award.(F) The director may prohibit vendors to the state lottery commission and their employees from being awarded a lottery prize award.(G) Upon the payment of prize awards pursuant to a provision of this section, other than a provision of division (D) of this section, the director and the state lottery commission are discharged from all further liability for their payment. Installment payments of lottery prize awards shall be paid by official check or warrant, and they shall be sent by mail delivery to the prize winner's address within the United States or by electronic funds transfer to an established bank account located within the United States, or the prize winner may pick them up at an office of the commission.Amended by 134th General Assembly, HB 29,§1, eff. 3/23/2022.Amended by 131st General Assembly, HB 64,§101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.Amended by 129th General Assembly, HB 386, §1, eff. 6/11/2012.Effective Date: 06-29-2004; 03-31-2005; 04-14-2006