Lottery or Gambling Winnings
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This section includes information on income received from lotteries, or any other form of gambling.
Policy
Winnings from lotteries, or any other form of gambling are countable as unearned income in the month received.
Countable income is used to determine an income budget. (See Income Budgeting to see how FAA determines the income budget.) FAA needs to know about income that is both countable and not countable to determine whether a budgetary unit’s income is exceeding their expenses. (See Income Eligibility for more information about how FAA uses countable and not countable income.)
When any participant in an NA budgetary unit receives lottery or gambling winnings equal to or more than the Winnings Reporting Amount in a single game, the entire budgetary unit is no longer eligible to receive NA benefits. See Winnings Reporting for the amount.
NOTE The ineligibility does not apply to CA budgetary units.
When multiple participants shared in the purchase of a ticket, hand, or similar bet, then only the portion of the winnings allocated to the member of the NA budgetary unit is counted toward the NA eligibility determination.
This change in income may be reported in any of the following ways:
●Directly by the NA budgetary unit
●Discovered through system reports
●Reported by a third party
NOTE Lottery winnings information provided by the Arizona Lottery Commission is considered Verified Upon Receipt(g). Additional verification is not required.
Both simplified reporting budgetary units and the Arizona Simplified Nutrition Assistance Program (AZSNAP) budgetary units are required to report lottery or gambling winnings equal to or more than the Winnings Reporting Amount.
When verification is not provided, benefits are stopped allowing for Notice of adverse action or the next workday after the information due date.
The budgetary unit may reapply at any time for NA benefits. When the budgetary unit reapplies, the categorical eligibility criteria does not apply. The application is processed under all of the following income and resource standards:
●The budgetary unit’s gross monthly income cannot exceed the 130% of the current Federal Poverty Limit (FPL).
●Resources need to be verified to determine that the budgetary unit meets the NA resource limit.
When the budgetary unit reapplies, any remaining lottery or gambling winnings are countable as a resource. The budgetary unit have to pass the NA resource limit to be considered eligible for NA benefits again.
NOTE NA budgetary units are required to meet the resource limit upon each reapplication after the ineligibility until they are determined eligible again. Every recertification after that would allow for categorical eligibility.
When the composition of that NA budgetary unit changes or any member of the budgetary unit leaves, all of the following applies:
●The original budgetary unit no longer exists, and any remaining members are considered as a new budgetary unit when they reapply
●A participant who chooses to reapply, alone or as a member of an existing budgetary unit, is considered separate from the unit that had substantial lottery or gambling winnings
Verification
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
For NA, all of the following income is required to be verified before eligibility is determined:
●Reported on a new application, during the interview of a new application, or changes reported before the eligibility determination of a new application.
●Changes after an eligibility determination of a new application (e.g., a renewal application, mid approval contact, etc.) and any of the following apply:
The source of the income has changed.
The income is questionable(g) or unclear(g).
The reported income amount has changed by $51 or more.
The previous verification in the case file is more than 59 calendar days old.
For CA, all income is required to be verified before determining eligibility.
Examples of verification that can be used for Lottery or Gambling Winnings include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Federal or state tax forms
●Financial records
●System interface(g) when the participant agrees that the information is accurate.
●Bank records
●Statement from the agency or payer providing the income
●Participant statement verification can be used when obtaining documented or collateral contact verification may cause harm or undue hardship(g) for the participant or when all of the following occur:
Attempts to obtain the verification from an acceptable source are unsuccessful. This includes documented and collateral contact verification.
The participant’s statement is not questionable(g).
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 272.17
7 CFR 273.11(r)
7 CFR 273.12
AAC R6-12-101
last revised 10/02/2023