The lucky winner of the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot will never have to reveal their identity. According to the Illinois Lottery, winners of prizes greater than $250,000 can request that their name and hometown be kept private.Although this is not the case in many states, a growing number of state legislators have sought to provide lottery winners with anonymity and a sense of privacy and security.
"It's actually been a little trend in the industry over the past four or five years, looking at doing anonymity for legislatures to go in and change the way the lotteries operate and put in the anonymity clauses," Gregg Edgar, executive director of the Arizona Lottery, told NPR.
Lottery winners in Arizona used to have only 90 days of secure anonymity before their information became public record. The organization's website now states that "winners of $100,000 or more may choose to keep their name permanently confidential."Why do so few states provide anonymity?
According to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, a non-profit trade association, most jurisdictions do not allow players to remain anonymous."State and provincial lawmakers want the public to know that the lottery is run honestly, so they require that at the very least the name of the winner and their city of residence be made public," according to the website. "In this way, the public can be assured that the prize was truly awarded to a real person."
Edgar stated that he owes it to Arizona's budget to be transparent about how the organization earns and spends money.After inadvertently pressing the wrong button on a lottery machine, a woman wins $10 million.
UNUSUAL NEWSAfter inadvertently pressing the wrong button on a lottery machine, a woman wins $10 million."A lot of us look at it as this is public funds, this is public [money], we need to make sure we're transparent and people can see that there are winners who come through," he said. However, he added, transparency must be balanced against the safety of winners.Edgar anticipates that efforts to protect lottery winners' anonymity will continue in other states across the country as jackpots grow larger.
Each state has its own set of public records laws.Vermont is among the states that do not allow for anonymity.
"While the Lottery routinely honors requests from winners not to post their personal information on social media, under the Vermont Public Records Act, any person can still request to obtain a copy of, or inspect, records produced or acquired by the Lottery in the course of its business," said Wendy Knight, commissioner of the state's liquor and lottery department, in a statement to NPR."Any player who is concerned about privacy and security issues associated with claiming a prize may wish to seek professional services from an accountant, attorney, tax adviser, and/or other consultant to assess and strategize about their available options and decide what makes the most sense for them," Knight added.
Editor : Sri Agustini
