2015 Wyoming Code
TITLE 9 - ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 17 - WYOMING LOTTERY
SECTION 9-17-119. - Prize proceeds subject to attachments, garnishments or executions; validation of winning tickets; prohibited purchases; money dispensing machines; unclaimed prize money.

9-17-119. Prize proceeds subject to attachments, garnishments or executions; validation of winning tickets; prohibited purchases; money dispensing machines; unclaimed prize money.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, attachments, garnishments, executions or past-due child support authorized and issued pursuant to law shall be withheld if timely served upon the corporation. This subsection shall not apply to a retailer.

(b) The corporation shall adopt regulations, policies and procedures to establish a system of verifying the validity of tickets or shares claimed to win prizes and to effect payment of the prizes, except that:

(i) No prize, any portion of a prize or any right of any person to a prize awarded shall be assignable. Any prize or any portion of a prize remaining unpaid at the death of a prize winner shall be paid to the estate of the deceased prize winner or to the trustee of a trust established by the deceased prize winner as settlor if a copy of the trust document or instrument has been filed with the corporation along with a notarized letter of direction from the settlor and no written notice of revocation has been received by the corporation prior to the settlor's death. Following a settlor's death and prior to any payment to a successor trustee, the corporation shall obtain from the trustee a written agreement to indemnify and hold the corporation harmless with respect to any claims that may be asserted against the corporation arising from payment to or through the trust. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, any person, pursuant to an appropriate judicial order, shall be paid the prize to which a winner is entitled;

(ii) No prize shall be paid arising from claimed tickets that are:

(A) Stolen, counterfeit, altered, fraudulent, unissued, produced or issued in error, unreadable, not received or not recorded by the corporation within applicable deadlines;

(B) Lacking in captions that conform and agree with the play symbols as appropriate to the particular lottery game involved; or

(C) Not in compliance with any additional specific regulations and public or confidential validation and security tests of the corporation appropriate to the particular lottery game involved.

(iii) No particular prize in any lottery game shall be paid more than once, and in the event of a determination that more than one (1) claimant is entitled to a particular prize, the sole remedy of the claimants is the award to each of them of an equal share in the prize; and

(iv) A holder of a winning cash ticket or share from a lottery game shall claim a cash prize within one hundred eighty (180) days, or for a multi-state or multi-sovereign lottery game within one hundred eighty (180) days, after the drawing in which the cash prize was won. If a valid claim is not made for a cash prize within the applicable period, the cash prize shall constitute an unclaimed prize for purposes of this section.

(c) No prize shall be paid upon a ticket or share purchased or sold in violation of this chapter. The prize shall constitute an unclaimed prize for purposes of this section.

(d) The corporation is discharged of all liability upon payment of a prize.

(e) No ticket or share shall be purchased by and no prize shall be paid to any member of the board of directors, any officer or employee of the corporation or to any spouse, child, brother, sister or parent residing as a member of the same household in the principal place of residence of any member of the board of directors, officer or employee of the corporation. No ticket or share shall be purchased by and no prize shall be paid to any officer, employee, agent or subcontractor of any vendor or to any spouse, child, brother, sister or parent residing as a member of the same household in the principal place of residence of any officer, employee, agent or subcontractor of any vendor if the officer, employee, agent or subcontractor has access to confidential information which may compromise the integrity of the lottery.

(f) No lottery game utilizing an electronic or mechanical machine may use a machine which dispenses coins or currency.

(g) Unclaimed prize money shall not constitute net lottery proceeds. A portion of unclaimed prize money, not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00) annually, shall be used by the corporation to develop, in consultation with the department of health programs for the treatment of compulsive gambling disorder and educational programs related to the disorder. In addition, unclaimed prize money may be added to the pool from which future prizes are to be awarded or used for special prize promotions.