Section 531.18.9. Ticket validation requirements.

         18.9(1) To be a valid scratch ticket, a ticket must meet all of the following validation requirements. A ticket must:

            a.                Have been issued in an authorized manner as determined by the lottery.

            b.                Not be altered, unreadable, reconstructed or tampered with in any manner.

            c.                Not be counterfeit in whole or in part.

            d.                Not be stolen or appear on any list of omitted tickets on file with the lottery.

            e.                Be complete and not blank or partially blank, miscut, misregistered, defective, or printed or produced in error.

            f.                 Have play symbols and captions as described in the specific game rules. All symbols, numbers and codes must be present in their entirety, legible, right side up, and not reversed in any manner.

            g.                Have the appropriate bar code, pack-ticket number, retailer verification code and security code.

            h.                Have a validation number that appears on the lottery’s official list of validation numbers of winning tickets. A ticket with that validation number shall not have been previously paid.

            i.                 Pass all additional validation requirements stated in the specific game rules and any confidential validation requirements established by the lottery.

         18.9(2) To be a valid instaplay ticket, a ticket must meet all of the following validation requirements. A ticket must:

            a.                Have been issued in an authorized manner as determined by the lottery.

            b.                Not be altered, unreadable, reconstructed or tampered with in any manner.

            c.                Not be counterfeit in whole or in part.

            d.                Not be stolen, canceled, or appear on any list of omitted or test tickets on file with the lottery.

            e.                Be complete and not blank or partially blank, miscut, misregistered, defective, or printed or produced in error.

            f.                 Have play symbols and captions as described in the specific game rules. All symbols, numbers and codes must be present in their entirety, legible, right side up, and not reversed in any manner.

            g.               The information on the ticket or share must correspond precisely with the lottery’s computer record.

            h.                The ticket or share serial number must appear in its entirety, and correspond, using a computer validation file, to the winning game play or plays printed on the ticket or share.

            i.                 A ticket or share shall be void unless the ticket or share is printed on a paper stock roll that was validly issued to and used, at the time of the play, by the retailer from whom the ticket or share was purchased.

            j.                 Pass all additional validation requirements stated in the specific game rules and any confidential validation requirements established by the lottery.

         18.9(3) Any ticket not passing all applicable validation requirements is invalid and is ineligible for any prize. The chief executive officer’s determination that a ticket is invalid is final.

The chief executive officer, in the chief executive officer’s sole discretion, may choose to pay an amount equal to the prize that would have been won on an invalid ticket if the lottery is able to determine the prize which would have been won by use of a symbol, number, color code, or other mechanism. The chief executive officer’s decision as to whether to pay a player the sum equal to the prize on an invalid ticket is final.

If an invalid ticket is purchased by a player, the only responsibility or liability of the lottery shall be to replace the invalid ticket with an unplayed ticket from the same game or any other game or issue a refund of the sale price.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code Supplement sections 99G.9(3), 99G.21, and 99G.31.

[ ARC 2781C , IAB 10/26/16, effective 11/30/16]