Oregon is moving forward with a measure that would prohibit the after market sale of winning tickets.
The Oregon House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection passed House Bill 3115 by a 52-1 vote during a third reading of the measure that aims to prohibit the sale or purchase of winning lottery tickets. HB 3115, sponsored by Rep. John Lively, also proposes a ban on the offer to sell or purchase winning lottery tickets while also prohibiting individuals from claiming a winning ticket for another person for compensation.
The bill also aims to establish a system to determine the validity of lottery tickets with oversight from the Oregon State Lottery Commission. It permits retailers to pay winning ticket holders up to $5,000 after performing validation procedures on their premises.
The proposed validation system would only verify “claims to prizes greater than $600.”
The winning lottery ticket prizes are not to be paid to any person under 18 years of age with HB 3115 also mandating video lottery prizes to only be paid to players 21 and over.
Under the measure, prizes for any lottery game may not be paid more than once.
Winning lottery ticket holders have the opportunity to claim their prizes for “one year after the drawing or end of the lottery game.” HB 3115 also reserves the right for any prize winner to have their name and address remain confidential unless they provide written authorization to disclose.
HB 3115 takes into consideration the impact of lottery ticket sales on Oregon taxes. Sold lottery tickets that violate the bill and are allowed as a deduction for federal tax purposes shall have their purchase price added to the federal taxable income for state tax purposes.
Potential lottery sale changes outside of Oregon
Oregon lawmakers are considering changes to lottery ticket sales as the Texas Legislature weighs similar potential changes to rules regarding its state lottery.
Last month, Sens. Bryan Hughes and Paul Bettencourt introduced Senate Bill 1346 as a measure that bans lottery ticket sales to “persons attempting to purchase all possible winning tickets in a lottery drawing.” SB 1346 also bans sales agents from selling or allowing the sale of lottery tickets to persons attempting to buy all possible winning tickets.
Sales agents who violate the measure and have their licenses revoked are prohibited from applying for a valid sales agent license before the first anniversary of the revocation date.
SB 1346 was recently referred to the Senate Committee on State Affairs where it received a 11-0 committee substitute vote with a committee report also distributed.
