How to Get a Lottery Agent License in Oregon
Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your Oregan lottery retailer sales bond needs.
How Do I Get a Lottery Agent License?
In Oregon, the Oregon State Lottery Commission licenses lottery retailers. Before applying for a lottery retailer license, you must properly register a business with the Oregon Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue.
When you’re ready to apply for a lottery retailer license, contact an Oregon Lottery Retail Contracts Consultant at 503-540-1136 or 1-800-766-6789, extension 1136. The consultant will help you with your application and advise you throughout the licensing process.
What Does the Licensing Process Involve?
Your signed application for a lottery retailer license authorizes the Oregon State Lottery Commission (OSLC) to investigate your financial, criminal, and credit histories and make sure you have no outstanding tax liabilities or other debts owed to the state.
If the Commission’s evaluation of the investigation results suggests the need for it, the OSLC Director can require a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit as a condition for approving you for a license. The required bond amount will be determined by OSLC.
Why Is a Lottery Bond Required?
Typically, a lottery bond is required when OSLC believes an applicant for licensure may not meet Oregon’s financial responsibility standards. The purpose of the lottery bond is to protect OSLC (the bond’s “obligee”) against financial loss caused by the failure of the lottery retailer (the bond’s “principal”) to remit lottery sales proceeds to the state or by some other violation of Oregon’s lottery statutes. The bond legally obligates the principal to pay all valid claims against the bond.
How Does a Lottery Bond Work?
In addition to the obligee and the principal, there is a third party to an Oregon lottery bond, which forms a legally binding contract among the three. The third party, known as the “surety,” is the company guaranteeing that the principal will pay all valid claims for monetary damages.
As the bond’s guarantor, the surety will first investigate a claim to make sure it is legitimate, and then will pay it on the principal’s behalf. That initial payment does not relieve the principal of the obligation to pay; it simply shifts it to repayment of the surety. Both the surety and the obligee are indemnified against any liability for claims filed against the bond.
If not repaid for the debt created by paying a claim on the principal’s behalf, the surety can take legal action against the principal to recover the funds.
What Does a Lottery Bond Cost?
The annual premium for an Oregon lottery bond is calculated by multiplying the bond amount, established by the obligee, by the premium rate, set by the surety through an underwriting process. The main underwriting goal is to determine the risk the surety will assume in agreeing to pay claims on the principal’s behalf. That risk is assessed on the basis of the principal’s personal credit score.
A high credit score suggests that the risk of the surety not being repaid by the principal is low, resulting in a low premium rate, usually at one or two percent. A low credit score suggests a higher risk level and results in a higher premium rate.
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