2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 18C-132. Procedures for drawings and claiming prizes; payment of prizes; protection of information concerning certain prize winners.

§ 18C‑132.  Procedures for drawings and claiming prizes; payment of prizes; protection of information concerning certain prize winners.

(a)       If a lottery game uses a daily or less frequent drawing of winning numbers, a drawing among entries, or a drawing among finalists, all of the following conditions shall be met:

(1)       The drawings shall be open to the public.

(2)       The drawings shall be witnessed by an independent certified public accountant.

(3)       Any equipment used in the drawings shall be inspected by the independent certified public accountant and an employee of the Commission both before and after the drawings.

(4)       Audio and visual records of the drawings and inspections shall be made.

(b)       Prizes that remain unclaimed after the period set by the Commission for claiming the prizes shall not be considered abandoned property. If a valid claim is not made for a prize within the applicable period, the unclaimed prize money shall be handled in accordance with Article 35A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.

(c)       After the expiration of the claim period for prizes for each lottery game, the Commission shall make available a detailed tabulation of the total number of prizes of each prize denomination that was actually claimed and paid directly by the Commission.

(d)       No prize shall be paid for a lottery ticket or share that is stolen, counterfeit, altered, fraudulent, unissued, produced or issued in error, unreadable, not received or recorded by the Commission by the applicable deadlines, lacking in captions that conform and agree with the play symbols as appropriate to the lottery game involved, or not in compliance with any additional specific rules and public or confidential validation and security tests appropriate to the particular game involved.

(e)       No valid claim for a prize in any lottery game shall be paid more than once. The Director, Commission, and the State shall be discharged of all liability upon payment of a prize.

(f)        Winners of less than six hundred dollars ($600.00) shall be permitted to claim prizes from any of the following:

(1)       The same lottery game retailer who sold the winning ticket or share.

(2)       Any other lottery retailer.

(3)       The Commission.

(g)       Winners of six hundred dollars ($600.00) or more shall claim prizes directly from the Commission.

(h)       The right of any person to a prize shall not be assignable. Payment of any prize may be paid to the estate of a deceased prizewinner or to a person designated pursuant to a court order.

(i)        No ticket or share in a lottery game shall be purchased by, and no prize shall be paid to, a member of the Commission, the Director, or employee of the Commission, or to any spouse, parent, or child living in the same household as a person disqualified by this subsection.

(j)        No prize shall be paid to a person under the age of 18.

(k)       If a prize winner submits to the Commission a copy of a protective order without attachments, if any, issued to that person under G.S. 50B‑3 or a lawful order of any court of competent jurisdiction restricting the access or contact of one or more persons with that prize winner or a current and valid Address Confidentiality Program authorization card issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15C of the General Statutes, that prize winner's identifying information shall be treated as confidential information under G.S. 132‑1.2 as long as the protective order remains in effect or the prize winner remains a certified program participant in the Address Confidentiality Program. That prize winner's identifying information shall be available for inspection by a law enforcement agency or by a person identified in a court order if inspection of the address by that person is directed by that court order.

(l)        All prizes are subject to the State income tax. (2005‑344, s. 1; 2005‑276, s. 31.1(k).)