Notice of Emergency Rule

DEPARTMENT OF THE LOTTERY
RULE NO: RULE TITLE
53ER08-86: Retailer POWERBALL® and POWERBALL® with Power Play® Bonus Commission Program
SUMMARY: The Florida Lottery will award bonus commissions to the retailer(s) that sells a winning POWERBALL® and/or POWERBALL® with Power Play® jackpot ticket.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE EMERGENCY RULE IS: Faith L. Schneider, Legal Analyst, Department of the Lottery, 250 Marriott Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-4011

THE FULL TEXT OF THE EMERGENCY RULE IS:

53ER08-86 Retailer POWERBALL® and  POWERBALL® with Power Play® Bonus Commission Program.

(1) The Florida Lottery will conduct, as a retailer sales incentive, a Retailer POWERBALL jackpot and POWERBALL with Power Play Bonus Commission Program (“Program”).  Florida Lottery retailers who sell a winning POWERBALL ticket for a $20 million jackpot will receive a bonus commission of $20,000. An additional $20,000 bonus commission will be paid to the retailer if the winning jackpot ticket was a Powerball with Power Play ticket.

(2) In the event that no jackpot winning ticket is sold for a POWERBALL drawing, the bonus commission amount will increase by $5,000 per draw until a winning jackpot ticket is sold or to a maximum bonus commission of $100,000.

(3) The bonus commission for the POWERBALL drawing on January 7, 2009, which will be the first drawing in which the Florida Lottery will participate, will be calculated as if the Florida Lottery had been a POWERBALL participant since the last drawing in which there was a jackpot winner.

(3) The bonus commissions will be shared equally in the event that multiple Florida Lottery retailers sell jackpot winning POWERBALL or POWERBALL with Power Play tickets.

(4) Florida retailers who sell a Powerball with Power Play ticket that wins $1 million for matching 5- of -5 numbers will receive a $1,000 bonus commission. If a special promotion is conducted that includes a multiplier number of 10, Florida retailers who sell a Powerball with Power Play ticket that wins $2 million for matching 5- of -5 numbers will receive a $2,000 bonus commission.

(5) Bonus commissions are in addition to the regular five percent sales commission set forth in Emergency Rule 53ER05-14, F.A.C.  Award of a bonus commission is not dependent upon the Powerball jackpot winning ticket or the Powerball with Power Play 5- of -5 winning ticket being claimed by the winner.

(6) Retailers whose Florida Lottery contracts are terminated or inactivated prior to the bonus commission award shall be paid the bonus commission earned provided said termination or inactivation was not due to noncompliance with Chapter 24, F.S., Chapter 53, F.A.C., or contract terms.

(7) A bonus commission will be considered compensation to the retailer for Internal Revenue Service purposes.  The Florida Lottery reserves the right to apply a bonus commission earned against a retailer’s outstanding debt to the Florida Lottery, and to award the remaining balance of the bonus commission, if any.

(8) POWERBALL or POWERBALL with Power Play bonus commissions are subject to availability of funds appropriated for retailer incentives.  This Program is subject to cancellation by future emergency rule if retailer incentive funding is not appropriated or if the Florida Lottery determines that it is no longer in the state’s best interest to use such funds for this purpose.

Specific Authority 24.105(9)(i), 24.109(1) FS. Law Implemented 24.105(9)(i), 24.112(1) FS.  History–New 12-30-08.

THIS RULE TAKES EFFECT UPON BEING FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE UNLESS A LATER TIME AND DATE IS SPECIFIED IN THE RULE.
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 30, 2008