Vaccinated Ohio citizens who desire to win the $1 million Vax-a-Million prize must opt into the lottery, a website assigned that went live at 8 a.m. today. This is a modification in plans from the recent announcement last week, in which names of Ohio adults were to be drawn through the Ohio voter rolls, with the website only to be for people who weren’t voters. The disclaimer is for legal reasons, due to healthcare privacy laws.
A statewide briefing by the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Lottery.
You can also enroll by calling a special state hotline, 1-833-4-ASKODH. One signup is good for all five sketches.
So why the modification? When will the drawings be held? And what do you need to qualify? Below, we will reply to all of your questions on Ohio’s $1 million vaccination lottery.
WHY THE CHANGE NEEDED?
Previously, Ohio inhabitants didn’t have to do anything to have a shot at the big fortune.
But upon reflection, those in charge of the Shot-ery Sweepstakes, so to speak, found the method would be too intonate and cumbersome.
Names from the state’s voting database were to be comprised automatically. But the options to provide contact information were considered too varied.
That could slow down our proficiency to locate them and we want to move this as quickly as we can, explained Stephanie McCloud, director of the Ohio Health Department.
And we want to be able to contact and verify them within that 48 hours.
FOR OHIO CITIZENS
HOW CAN I WIN $1 MILLION?
Five vaccinated adults will be chosen at random in five different weekly drawings to win $1 million.
That $1 million will be taxed.
To be eligible, you need to be an Ohio citizen and at least 18 years old. Additionally, Ohioans must have at least one dose of a vaccine by 11:59 p.m. Sunday before that week’s drawing.
If you were vaccinated in another state, you can still enroll as long as you are a permanent Ohio inhabitant.
HOW CAN I WIN A FULL SCHOLARSHIP?
There are inducements for young people too. Five vaccinated Ohioans aged 12 to 17 will be chosen at random to earn a full four-year scholarship.
That scholarship comprises tuition, room and board, and books at any Ohio university. The same rules apply. You must have at least one shot of the vaccine by the time of the drawing.
They can opt-in on their own — at the same website — but should their name be drawn they would need a parent or legal guardian to assess their information.
WHEN WILL WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?
The first of five winners will be declared on May 26. And all four consecutive winners announced each Wednesday that comes.
Winners will be confirmed at 7:29 p.m.
HOW DOES THE DRAWING WORK?
The Ohio Department of Health will be the sponsoring agency for the drawings, and the Ohio Lottery will perform them.
Winners will need to verify their vaccination status and will be asked to provide their vaccine card.
Up to 100 alternative names would be drawn if the winner cannot be verified as vaccinated, which begs the concern about a potential criminal penalty since we’re talking about such a large lump sum payout once taxes are lessened.
I don’t think there’ll be any penalty, stated Gov. Mike DeWine. We’re not interested in penalties. We’re interested in incentivizing people, kind of providing them one more fun reason to be vaccinated.
The Lottery will conduct the sketches and says it has the capacity for up to 10 million entries.
The drawings will be on the next five Mondays. The winners will be known on the following Wednesdays.
We have strengthened everything, said Maureen Hall, CIO of the Ohio Lottery. And we certainly have the security protocols in place to ensure minimal downtime if it happens.
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CAN WINNERS REMAIN ANONYMOUS?
Were you to win Tuesday’s Ohio Lottery $468 million Mega-Millions drawing, you could set up a trust and remain anonymous.
Winners of Vax-a-Million will not be permitted to do that.
Their names will be public.
To register, click here
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