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PRIZE LEVELS
There are three prize ranges for scratch tickets: low-tier, mid-tier and high-tier. Low-tier prizes range from
$1 to $24.99. Mid-tier prizes range from $25 to $599. High-tier prizes are prizes of more than $599.
Retailers are encouraged to pay prizes up to and including $599. Beginning in 2023, cash prizes from $600 up
to and including $5,000 may be claimed via the Texas Lottery App
®
. Annuity, merchandise and jackpot prizes
cannot be claimed using the app. Prizes of a free draw game ticket will be paid the cash equivalent. Player will
be notified by email from Bank of America/Zelle of payment to player’s specified payment source. Prizes up
to and including $5 million may be claimed at metro claim centers in: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and
San Antonio. All other claim centers can pay prizes up to $2.5 million. All prizes over $5 million, Lotto Texas
®
,
Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot prizes, and prizes paid through an annuity must be claimed at Texas
Lottery headquarters in Austin. Before going to a claim center, players should visit texaslottery.com or call
800-375-6886 for current instructions on how and where to claim a prize.
Do not validate a ticket unless you have sufficient funds to pay a winner. If acceptable to the claimant, retailers
may pay cash prizes with cash, business check, certified check, cashier’s check, money order, gift card, store-
value card, or store merchandise, including lottery tickets. (The terminal will not allow you to validate a ticket
for a high-tier prize.) You may not charge a player a fee for paying a prize with a money order or check. You
may not require a purchase to redeem a lottery prize.
If a customer presents a prize-winning ticket of $600 or more, you should explain that they may claim a prize
up to and including $2.5 million at any claim center. Winner Claim Forms are available on the Texas Lottery
website Retailers page. A customer also may claim a prize by mail, but the customer bears any risk associated
with mailing a ticket.
You must deface validated lottery tickets except in cases where you validated a ticket but did not have
sufficient funds to pay the prize. You may deface a scratch ticket in several ways, including marking through
the barcode on the front of a ticket (top to bottom) or tearing through the barcode (top to bottom) on the
back of the ticket. Removing the corner of the ticket containing the barcode is usually sufficient.
Keep defaced tickets in a secure place until you reconcile validations to a terminal Today Report or a Daily
Report (see Exhibits) the next day.
DEFACING TICKETS
DEFECTIVE TICKETS
A pack may contain tickets that are defective because of errors in the manufacturing process. For example,
a ticket may have printing errors or perforation errors. Do not sell or validate tickets that you believe to be
defective, and do not sell any tickets from a pack that you believe contains one or more defective tickets.
Contact an Instant Ticket Specialist at the IGT Hotline to have the ticket(s) evaluated. You will be given credit
for any tickets that are determined to be defective.