Did you know that there are lotteries that insist on basic information about winners being released to the public? We're not just talking about your name and city, but also how much you won.
But, why?
It's because lotteries are aiming for as much transparency as possible in their operations. They want you, the public, to know that anybody can hit the big time - even those jackpots worth hundreds of millions.
Reports of everyday people winning massive jackpots, you see, are beneficial to the lotteries, and this kind of publicity, in turn, generates an increase in ticket sales.
Are There Any Downfalls to Remaining Anonymous?
According to one Florida Lottery attorney, Dan Russell, anonymity lends a degree of assistance to someone who might want to rig a draw. So, for those who want the system to be transparent, anonymity is a no-no, it would seem.
In fact, the risk of anonymous winners was brought to the public's attention after one lottery insider fixed numbers in multiple games over a period of years.
However, it's becoming more and more possible for winners who hit big jackpots to hide their identity, while lottery executives spend sleepless nights looking for ways to strike a balance to ensure privacy and safety of winners while still portraying that real people can, and do, win.
Jackpot winners in the past have had "targets painted on their backs". Once their names are released, they're harassed into some seriously bad investment decisions. Some argue that forcing winners to reveal their identity is like throwing them, quite literally, to the sharks.
Yet, allowing winners to collect their jackpots anonymously builds on the public's suspicions and makes it even easier for fixing and cheating to go undetected.
Where Can Winners Remain Anonymous These Days?
There are still states in America where winners can remain anonymous, they are: South Carolina, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Kansas and North Dakota.
Andthere are those states like Vermont, Colorado, and Massachusetts that will pay the jackpot into a trust and allow a trustee - usually an attorney representing the winner - to collect the prize without disclosing the ticket holder's identity.
What Are States Doing for American Jackpot Winners?
In both New York and North Carolina, bills to keep winner's names private have failed. In 2013, then New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, vetoed a bill calling for a 12-month delay in releasing winner's identities, citing that it could reduce ticket sales by hampering marketing efforts. Similar measures have been introduced in the states of Texas, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, too.
Those in favour of privacy cite instances in which winners saw their lives upended after their big wins became public knowledge.
How Can Winners Remain Anonymous?
In July 2016, one lucky ticket holder won the $487 million US Powerball jackpot. The ticket was bought in New Hampshire. Lottery officials reported that the winner chose to remain a secret, claiming their prize through a trust that was facilitated by a local law firm.
Of course, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission would have liked to meet their Powerball winner in person, but it respected their choice to remain anonymous and to live as normal a life as they could.
Interestingly, there are legal entities and strategies that winners can create to help them remain private if they hit the jackpot. One is referred to as a "blind trust." The "blind" bit means that the public won't get to know the identity of the lottery winner. These are complicated issues, though, and winners are always urged to consult legal professionals before claiming a large win.
Are There Benefits to Going Public When You Win a Jackpot?
Many lottery winners report that it's almost impossible to keep their win a secret. There are those who say that they just wouldn't have been able to enjoy their win as much if they'd had to come up with stories and lies to tell their loved ones.
In fact, many lottery winners go public for the same reason - there's just nowhere to hide.
Be Prepared to Go Public
It looks like many states are fighting for winners to go public, and that's understandable. After all, one of the worst things that could happen to a lottery is having the public thinking it's in any way fixed.
If you must stay anonymous, there's always the option of collecting through your legal representative - through a trust. So, while there are options, making winners public looks like the way forward for many American states.