Section 3770:1-9-543 - Game rule number five hundred forty-three(A) Title and term. Ohio Lottery Commission game rule number five hundred forty-three, "Merry Millions" shall be conducted at such times and for such periods as the commission may determine. For the purposes of this rule, "sales cycle" shall mean any such period, including reprints, beginning on the date when ticket sales are commenced and continuing through the date established by the director as the date on which sales agents are to make their final settlement with respect to tickets allocated to them during the period in game rule number five hundred forty-three.(B) General design. (1) Game rule number five hundred forty-three is a key number match game and is generally known as an "instant lottery."(2) Holders of valid tickets will remove the covering over the entire play area to reveal "$50 Bonus," "$100 Bonus," "$500 Bonus," eight "Winning Numbers," twenty "Your Numbers", and twenty corresponding prize amounts. In "$50 Bonus," if the player reveals a "$50 Bill" symbol, the player wins fifty dollars automatically. In "$100 Bonus," if the player reveals a "$100 Bill" symbol, the player wins one hundred dollars automatically. In "$500 Bonus," if the player reveals a "$500 Bill" symbol, the player wins five hundred dollars automatically. If the player matches one or more of the "Winning Numbers" to one or more of "Your Numbers," the player wins the corresponding prize amount automatically. If the player reveals a "Star" symbol, the player wins the corresponding prize amount automatically. If the player reveals a "$500 Burst" symbol, the player wins five hundred dollars shown automatically. If the player reveals a "Wreath" symbol the player wins all twenty prizes shown automatically. There are twenty-three chances to win on each ticket, and a player can win up to twenty-three times on one ticket.(3) The only "prize values," which shall appear on a ticket in game rule number five hundred forty-three are: ten dollars, twenty dollars, twenty-five dollars, thirty dollars, fifty dollars, one hundred dollars, two hundred dollars, five hundred dollars, one thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, and an "Annuity Prize Award" of forty thousand dollars per year for twenty-five years before taxes or the "Elected Cash-Option Prize Award" of approximately five hundred thousand dollars before taxes in lieu of the "Annuity Prize Award." Numbers, prize values and play symbols appearing on any ticket in game rule number five hundred forty-three shall be concealed by an opaque covering, which may be scratched off by the holder of the ticket to reveal the underlying numbers, prize values and play symbols.(C) Price of tickets. The price of a ticket issued by the commission in game rule number five hundred forty-three shall be twenty dollars.(D) Structure, nature, value, and number of prize awards. (1) There shall be one type of prize in game rule five hundred forty-three, a "prize award."(2) As used in this rule, "prize award" shall mean one of the following monetary figures, which is the total of all winning prize values appearing on the ticket: twenty dollars, twenty-five dollars, thirty dollars, fifty dollars, one hundred dollars, two hundred dollars, five hundred dollars, one thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, and an "Annuity Prize Award" of forty thousand dollars per year for twenty-five years before taxes or the "Elected Cash Option" of approximately five hundred thousand dollars before taxes in lieu of the "Annuity Prize Award." Each ticket in game rule number five hundred forty-three shall be imprinted in such a way that prize awards from the set listed above may be won.(E) Number of prize awards. The number of prize awards in any sales cycle of game rule number five hundred forty-three will depend upon the number of tickets sold during that cycle. However, distribution and availability for public purchase may be affected by, but not limited to, circumstances such as stolen, defective, missing, damaged, promotional, returned or reordered tickets. Tickets shall be printed in accordance with this rule using random techniques. (1) Combinations winning each prize award are randomly distributed throughout all tickets printed in any given ticket issuance.(2) For each line in column one of the appendix to this rule, except line fifty-three, the player having the prize value and multiplier, if any, on that same line in column three shall win the prize award on that same line in column four. A player having the prize value set forth on line fifty-three of column three of the appendix to this rule shall win either the "Annuity Prize Award" or the "Elected Cash Option Prize Award." The amounts set forth on line fifty-three, of column four of the appendix to this rule represent the estimated cost of annuity investment, at time of game development, to fund the "Annuity Prize Award." In a pool of three million tickets sold, mathematical reasoning suggests that the number of tickets having the prize value and multiplier, if any, set forth on a given lines in column three of the appendix to this rule should be as set forth on that same line in column five.(F) Tickets sold. Chances of winning and the number of winning tickets are established at the time of printing and will change as prizes are won.(G) Frequency of prize drawings. (1) Random imprinting of prize awards on all tickets issued in game rule number five hundred forty-three shall be accomplished in a manner, which complies with the commission's rules and procedures.(2) When a ticket issued in game rule number five hundred forty-three is sold or deemed sold in accordance with this rule and the covering material over any of the numbers, prize values and play symbols has been removed, the holder shall be deemed to have drawn the numbers, prize values and play symbols on that ticket, which determine whether the holder is entitled to a prize award. All prize awards shall be deemed announced no later than the last day of the sales cycle of game rule number five hundred forty-three in which the ticket was sold.(H) Special claim, entry, receipt and validation procedures. The director shall establish special claim, entry, receipt and validation procedures, including procedures for validation by sales agents of tickets winning prize awards, which are to be paid by sales agents in accordance with commission rules. Prize awards shall be claimed within the time limits set forth by commission rules.(I) Validity of tickets. (1) A mechanical error in printing prize awards, symbols, words or other numbers on a ticket shall not automatically invalidate that ticket. To the extent feasible, the director shall establish procedures by which the holder of any ticket on which information is incorrectly printed due to mechanical malfunction may be advised of correct information for the ticket. If it is not technically feasible to recover the information from a mechanically misprinted ticket, the director may declare the ticket void and the holder shall be entitled to a return of the ticket price or a replacement ticket of comparable price.(2) In addition to, but not in limitation of, all other power and authority conferred on the director by the commission's rules, the director may declare a ticket in game rule number five hundred forty-three void if it is stolen, deactivated, not sold or deemed not sold in accordance with commission rules; if it is illegible, mutilated, altered, counterfeit, misregistered, reconstituted, miscut, defective, printed or produced in error or incomplete; if the ticket fails any of the validation tests or procedures established by the director; or if the ticket is obtained in violation of commission rules, including, but not limited to, by way of prize discounting prohibited under rule 3770-3-01 of the Administrative Code. The commission's liability and responsibility for a ticket declared void, if any, is limited to refund of the retail sales price of the ticket or issuance of a replacement ticket of comparable price.(J) Director's conduct of game rule five hundred forty-three. (1) The director shall conduct game rule number five hundred forty-three and any promotions associated therewith in a manner consistent with the Lottery Act and the rules of the commission including, without limitation, this rule. The director shall inform the public of the provisions of this rule and the procedures established pursuant hereto, which affect the play of game rule number five hundred forty-three. The director reserves the right to declare any instant game as unavailable for sale at any time to maintain game integrity and accountability.(2) Names and definitions of elements of game rule five hundred forty-three used in this rule are used solely for purposes of this rule. In actual operation, game rule number five hundred forty-three and these elements may be given names or titles chosen by the commission. Click to view Appendix
Ohio Admin. Code 3770:1-9-543
Effective: 7/20/2019
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3770.03
Rule Amplifies: 3770.01, 3770.02, 3770.03, 3770.04, 3770.05, 3770.06, 3770.07, 3770.08