Definitions.
Source version current through Sep 30, 2026
Source details
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 30, 2026
- Text saved
- Oct 4, 2026
- Related Register notice
- SGC-48-25-00022-A · Adopted rule
- Related notice published
- Feb 18, 2026
- Related notice effective date
- Feb 18, 2026
Definitions.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, the following definitions are applicable throughout this Chapter.
(a)Act or acts means article 34 of the Tax Law, commonly known and cited as the New York State Lottery for Education Law, and article 1 of the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law.
(b)Affiliate means a parent company or subordinate business entity of a courier service.
(c)Agent commission means a lottery sales agent’s portion of sales, or other person’s portion of sales, related to activity of sales, processing of claims, distribution and handling of tickets and revenue, and other services performed at the request of the lottery director.
(d)Annuity option means the manner in which a designated prize may be paid in annual installments.
(e)Assigned drawing means a unique multi-digit consecutive number assigned by the central gaming system, which corresponds to a specified drawing.
(f)Bet ticket means the ticket generated by the computer terminal based on input received from the purchaser, whether by play slip, quick-pick option, manual entry or other means approved by the commission, or electronically generated by a central gaming system as directed by a subscription purchaser.
(g)Central gaming system means the information system that includes infrastructure components to implement and/or support lottery sales and claims functions.
(h)Claimant means any person or entity submitting a prize claim within the required time period of a game or promotion to collect a lottery prize. A claimant may be a person or entity named on a signed ticket or claim form or may be the bearer of an unsigned ticket.
(i)Claims center or customer service center means any place designated by the commission where a ticket holder or such ticket holder's representative may file a claim for a prize in accordance with instructions of such commission.
(j)Commission means the New York State Gaming Commission established pursuant to article 1 of the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law.
(k)Computer terminal means the device at the Lottery sales agent location or site licensed by the commission authorized for use in purchasing Lottery game tickets and performing other Lottery transactions.
(l)Courier customer means a natural person who is the holder of an account on a network operated by a courier service and who requests delivery of a lottery ticket through such network.
(m)Courier service means a person licensed pursuant to this subchapter as a vendor to carry out transactions as an agent for customers as permitted by this subchapter.
(n)Drawing date means the date designated by the commission on which the winning numbers, symbols or characters are drawn for a game or promotion.
(o)Draw game refers to a game that may from time to time be implemented on the commission’s central gaming system and requires a drawing to determine winning numbers, symbols, or characters.
(p)Drawing means the formal process, determined by the commission, by which the winning numbers, symbols or characters are drawn.
(q)Drawing cutoff or draw close means the deadline to purchase a lottery ticket for a particular lottery drawing as determined by the commission.
(r)Field means a set of numbers, symbols, or characters available for selection and from which numbers, symbols or characters are drawn according to a game design to determine winning plays in a draw game. A game may be designed to include two or more fields, which may be designated as field 1, field 2, and so forth.
(s)Fixed prize means a prize to be paid by a single payment and, except in instances specified otherwise in this Subchapter, will be equal to the prize amount established for the associated prize level.
(t)Game panel means the area of the play slip that contains a number of defined spaces from which a purchaser may select a subset of numbers, symbols or characters to be played for a particular drawing. Selections made by the purchaser in the game panel are used to produce an individual wager shown on the bet ticket.
(u)Gross sales means the dollar value of the bet tickets eligible for a particular draw game’s scheduled drawing.
(v)Jackpot prize means the top prize awarded in a lottery game or promotion. Jackpot prize may also be referred to from time to time as grand prize.
(w)Lottery director means the director of the Division of Lottery within the commission.
(x)Lottery fund means the State lottery fund established pursuant to section 92-c of the State Finance Law.
(y)Lottery or State lottery means the lottery established and operated pursuant to the Lottery for Education Law and article 1 of the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law.
(z)Lottery sales agent means a person who or that is licensed by the commission pursuant to the acts to sell lottery tickets.
(aa)Lump-sum option means the manner in which particular prize levels may be paid in a single payment in an amount equal to the prize won, discounted to the present value of the prize, as determined by the commission, as set forth in this Subchapter. Lump sum means the amount of such single payment.
(ab)Manual entry means the capability of the computer terminal or lottery self-service vending machine to record a purchaser's plays in response to instruction from a purchaser.
(ac)Measuring life means the period over which a life-contingent annuitized prize is paid out. For each winning play, the measuring life shall be determined according to the period in which payments shall be made pursuant to section 5002.13 of this Title. The measuring life shall be determined at the time an annuitized prize is claimed.
(ad)MUSL means the Multi-State Lottery Association.
(ae)Network means an online-enabled technology application service or electronic system offered or used by a courier service agent that enables courier customers of the network within the State to request the courier service to purchase lottery tickets on the courier customer's behalf as the courier customer’s agent and receive delivery of a facsimile or other electronic confirmation of the lottery tickets issued on behalf of the courier customer through the network.
(af)Pari-mutuel basis means, for a draw game, a method of determining prize amounts for a designated prize level calculated by dividing the total amount of prize money allocated to pay prizes at such level for a specified drawing, divided among the number of winning plays at such prize level for such drawing.
(ag)Party lotteries mean one or more of the lotteries established and operated pursuant to the laws of any jurisdiction that becomes a signatory to an agreement to participate in a multi-jurisdictional game.
(ah)Person means an individual, partnership, association, organization, corporation, limited liability company, club, company, trust, estate, society, joint-stock company, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee or any other form of business organization or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, and any combination of individuals, as well as agencies and instrumentalities of the State and counties, cities, towns and villages.
(ai)A play means a single entry into a specific game’s prize pool for a scheduled event to select winnings plays.
(aj)Play slip means a tangible instrument, in a form approved by the commission, that a bet-ticket purchaser uses to designate the game and numbers, symbols or characters that the bet-ticket purchaser has selected to play (on the purchaser’s own behalf or as agent for a principal) and to communicate such selections to a lottery sales agent to generate a bet ticket. A play slip may provide for wagering on future drawings and multiple drawings, up to a number of consecutive draws the commission may specify.
(ak)Prize fund means the percentage of a game’s gross sales set aside for the prize pool, inclusive of any prize reserves, for the payment of prizes.
(al)Prize pool means the designated portion of revenue from ticket sales that is allocated for the payment of prizes in a specific lottery game or drawing.
(am)Purchaser means a natural person who purchases a bet ticket within New York State, whether on the purchaser’s own behalf or as agent for a principal.
(an)Quick pick means a method in which some or all number, symbol, or character selections are determined at random by the central gaming system or the computer terminal at the time of purchase. If a purchaser communicates some number, symbol, or character selections orally or by play slip, any remaining number, symbol or character selections required to effect a play may be determined by quick pick.
(ao)Ticket means a representation, the form of which is prescribed by the commission, of the lottery play or plays sold to a purchaser.
(ap)Ticket processing means, with respect to a courier service, the process inclusive of the following:
(1)accepting a request to purchase lottery tickets as the courier customer’s agent;
(2)generation of lottery tickets necessary to complete a request through a computer terminal pursuant to the requirements of section 5004.9 of this Title;
(3)scanning legibly the front and back of a ticket and creating an image thereof;
(4)matching the ticket to a courier customer's request and verifying the accuracy thereof; and
(5)providing a courier customer with an image of the front and back of a ticket.
(aq)Validation means the process of determining whether a ticket presented for prize payment does or does not represent a winning play.