Chapter 565

565.015   Advisory referendum on additional forms of gambling.

565.02   Lottery operations.

565.05   Conflicts of interest.

565.10   Retailer contract.

565.12   Retailer contract termination or suspension.

565.15   Department retail outlet.

565.17   Limitations on ticket and share sales and purchases.

565.20   Retailer rental payments.

565.25   Contracting authority and purchasing procedures.

565.27   Lottery games.

565.28   Lottery prize payment option.

565.30   Lottery prizes.

565.32   Promotional advertising; advertising, ticket and share contents.

565.37   Audits, financial reports and odds verification.

565.40   Enforcement authority.

565.45   Report on expense limitation.

565.46   Minority advertising, procurements, retailers and hiring.

565.48   Collection of unpaid liabilities.

565.50   Penalties.

565.01 565.01 Definitions. In this chapter:

565.01(1) (1) “Administrator” means the administrator of the lottery division in the department.

565.01(1m) (1m) “Beneficial owner” has the meaning given under 17 CFR 240.13d-3.

565.01(2) (2) “Department” means the department of revenue, except as otherwise expressly provided.

565.01(2m) (2m) “Federal income tax number” means either a taxpayer identification number or a federal employer identification number, as required by the internal revenue service.

565.01(3m) (3m) “Instant lottery ticket services and supplies” means those lottery products and associated services commonly known as scratch-off or instant games based upon secure, preprinted lottery tickets.

565.01(4) (4) “Major procurement” means a procurement for materials, supplies, equipment or services which are unique to the lottery and not common to the ordinary operations of state agencies, including security services, prize payout agreements or annuity contracts and materials, supplies, equipment or services involving marketing, the printing of lottery tickets or lottery shares, the receiving or recording of a player’s selection in any lottery game and the determination of winners of a lottery game.

565.01(4c) (4c) “Management consultation services” means any of the following services:

565.01(4c)(a) (a) The development of a specification related to a bid or competitive sealed proposal to supply goods or services to the department relating to the state lottery.

565.01(4c)(b) (b) The evaluation of a bid or competitive sealed proposal to supply goods or services to the department relating to the state lottery.

565.01(4c)(c) (c) Consultation regarding the administration or supervision of one or more functions relating to lottery management or operations.

565.01(4d) (4d) “Minority business” means a business certified by the department of administration under s. 16.287 (2).

565.01(4e) (4e) “Minority group member” has the meaning given in s. 16.287 (1) (f).

565.01(4f) (4f) “Multijurisdictional” means pertaining to another state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or possession of the United States of America, the government of Canada or any province thereof, or any other country or nation.

565.01(4g) (4g) “On-line services and supplies” means those lottery products and associated services, including computerized transaction processing equipment, computerized retailer vending terminals, and those technologies necessary to maximize lottery revenues and minimize the lottery’s total operating costs. The term does not include services related to instant lottery ticket services.

565.01(4n) (4n) “Personal representative” has the meaning given in s. 851.23.

565.01(4r) (4r) “Promotional advertising” means advertising which is for the purpose of inducing persons to purchase lottery tickets or lottery shares. “Promotional advertising” does not mean advertising which is designed to provide the public with information on any of the following:

565.01(4r)(a) (a) The fact that this state has a state lottery or participates in a multijurisdictional lottery.

565.01(4r)(b) (b) The locations where lottery tickets or lottery shares are sold.

565.01(4r)(c) (c) The price of lottery tickets or lottery shares.

565.01(4r)(d) (d) The prizes or prize structure of the lottery.

565.01(4r)(e) (e) The type of lottery game and an explanation of how it works.

565.01(4r)(f) (f) The time, date and place of conducting the lottery.

565.01(4r)(g) (g) The winning numbers, lottery tickets or lottery shares or the identity of winners and the amounts won.

565.01(4r)(h) (h) How the lottery is operated or how the net proceeds of the lottery are to be used.

565.01(5) (5) “Relative” means a spouse, child, stepchild, brother, stepbrother, sister, stepsister, parent or stepparent.

565.01(6) (6) “Retailer” means a person who sells lottery tickets or lottery shares on behalf of the department under the terms of a lottery retailer contract entered into under s. 565.10.

565.01(6c) (6c) “Special agent” means any employee of the department authorized to act under s. 73.031.

565.01(6m) (6m) 

565.01(6m)(a) (a) “The state lottery” means an enterprise, including a multijurisdictional lottery in which the state participates, in which the player, by purchasing a ticket, is entitled to participate in a game of chance in which any of the following applies:

565.01(6m)(a)1. 1. The winning tickets are randomly predetermined and the player reveals preprinted numbers or symbols from which it can be immediately determined whether the ticket is a winning ticket entitling the player to win a prize as prescribed in the features and procedures for the game, including an opportunity to win a prize in a secondary or subsequent chance drawing or game.

565.01(6m)(a)2. 2. The ticket is evidence of the numbers or symbols selected by the player or, at the player’s option, randomly selected by a computer, and the player becomes entitled to a prize as prescribed in the features and procedures for the game, including an opportunity to win a prize in a secondary or subsequent chance drawing or game, if some or all of the player’s symbols or numbers are selected in a chance drawing or game, if the player’s ticket is randomly selected by the computer at the time of purchase or if the ticket is selected in a chance drawing.

565.01(6m)(b) (b) “The state lottery” does not include any of the following games or games simulating any of the following games:

565.01(6m)(b)1. 1. Any game in which winners are selected based on the results of a race or sporting event.

565.01(6m)(b)2. 2. Any banking card game, including blackjack, baccarat or chemin de fer.

565.01(6m)(b)3. 3. Poker.

565.01(6m)(b)4. 4. Roulette.

565.01(6m)(b)5. 5. Craps or any other game that involves utilizing dice.

565.01(6m)(b)6. 6. Keno.

565.01(6m)(b)7. 7. Bingo 21, bingo jack, bingolet or bingo craps.

565.01(6m)(b)8. 8. Any game of chance that is played on a slot machine or any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device that is generally available to be played at a gambling casino.

565.01(6m)(b)9. 9. Any game or device that is commonly known as a video game of chance or a video gaming machine or that is commonly known as or considered to be a video gambling machine, except a video device authorized by the department to permit the sale of tickets by retailers in a game authorized under par. (a) if all of the following apply:

565.01(6m)(b)9.a. a. The device does not determine whether the player has won a prize.

565.01(6m)(b)9.b. b. The device does not indicate whether the player has won a prize other than by verifying that the player’s ticket or some or all of the player’s symbols or numbers on the player’s ticket have been selected in a chance drawing, or by verifying that the player’s ticket has been randomly selected by a central system computer at the time of purchase.

565.01(6m)(b)10. 10. Any game that is similar to a game listed in this paragraph.

565.01(6m)(b)11. 11. Any other game that is commonly considered to be a form of gambling and is not, or is not substantially similar to, a game that the department has the authority to conduct under this chapter.

565.01(6m)(c) (c) This subsection shall not affect the provisions of any Indian gaming compact entered into before January 1, 1993, under s. 14.035.

565.01(6p) (6p) “Ticket courier service” means a service operated for the purpose of purchasing Wisconsin lottery tickets on behalf of individuals located within or outside this state and delivering or transmitting those Wisconsin lottery tickets, or electronic images of those Wisconsin lottery tickets, to those individuals as a for-profit, business service.

565.01(7) (7) “Vendor” means any person who enters into a major procurement contract under s. 565.25.

565.01 History History: 1987 a. 119; 1989 a. 31, 99; 1991 a. 39, 189, 269, 321; 1995 a. 27 s. 9116 (5); 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 194; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 20; 2017 a. 17; 2021 a. 6; 2023 a. 73.

565.01 Annotation The purchase of a lottery ticket creates a binding contract with the state, the terms of which are governed by statute. Under sub. (6m) (a) 2., a player is entitled to a prize as prescribed in the “features and procedures for the game,” which become a part of the contract. The player is assumed to know the applicable law and, thus, to know that the features and procedures specify the terms upon which a player is entitled to a prize. Brown v. State, 230 Wis. 2d 355, 602 N.W.2d 79 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-2662.

565.015 565.015 Advisory referendum on additional forms of gambling. After January 1, 1993, neither house of the legislature may pass any bill that authorizes the conduct of any game specified in s. 565.01 (6m) (b), 1991 stats., unless, prior to the passage of that bill and during the same legislative session, all of the following occur:

565.015(1) (1) A bill requiring a statewide advisory referendum on the question of whether the legislature should authorize the conduct of such a game has been enacted.

565.015(2) (2) The advisory referendum required under sub. (1) has been held.

565.015 History History: 1991 a. 321.

565.02 565.02 Lottery operations.

565.02(1) (1) 

565.02(1)(a) (a) Prior to appointing an administrator, the department shall conduct a nationwide search to find the best, most qualified appointee and consider the business management experience, marketing experience, computer experience and lottery management experience of the applicants.

565.02(1)(b) (b) Notwithstanding s. 111.321, no person may serve as the administrator if he or she has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or no contest to, any of the following:

565.02(1)(b)1. 1. A felony, other than a felony conviction for an offense under subds. 2. to 4., during the immediately preceding 10 years, unless the person has been pardoned.

565.02(1)(b)2. 2. A gambling-related offense.

565.02(1)(b)3. 3. Fraud or misrepresentation in any connection.

565.02(1)(b)4. 4. A violation of a provision of this chapter or rule of the department relating to the state lottery.

565.02(1)(c) (c) Before appointment of an administrator is made, the department, with the assistance of the department of justice, shall conduct a background investigation of the proposed administrator. The department shall require the proposed administrator to be photographed and fingerprinted. The department of justice may submit the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for the purposes of verifying the identity of the person fingerprinted and obtaining records of his or her criminal arrests and convictions. The department, with the assistance of the department of justice, shall repeat the background investigation of the administrator every 5 years. The department shall reimburse the department of justice for the department of justice’s services under this paragraph.

565.02(2) (2) 

565.02(2)(a) (a) The administrator shall perform the duties assigned to the administrator under this chapter and by the secretary of revenue.

565.02(2)(b) (b) The administrator shall appoint and supervise employees, as specified by the department by rule under sub. (3) (a), as necessary to carry out the duties of the administrator.

565.02(2)(c) (c) Notwithstanding s. 111.321, no person may be employed under par. (b) if he or she has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or no contest to, any of the following:

565.02(2)(c)1. 1. A felony, other than a felony conviction for an offense under subd. 2. or 3., during the immediately preceding 10 years, unless the person has been pardoned.