Missouri legislature considering lottery winner anonymity

Mar 28, 2013, 6:49 pm (32 comments)

Missouri Lottery

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Lottery would not be able to release the names and addresses of prize winners under a bill presented to a Missouri House committee on Thursday.

Sponsoring Rep. Rochelle Walton Gray, of Black Jack, told the House Local Government Committee that winning the lottery can subject a person to hardship.

She cited constant phone calls, harassment and loss of privacy as consequences of people knowing the identities of lottery winners. She also said winning big prizes could even result in death. A Chicago man died in July just before he was to collect a $425,000 prize from a scratch-off ticket. His death was ruled a homicide in January.

But Philip Smith of the Missouri Lottery told committee members that revealing a winner's identity provides legitimacy to the lottery.

"To ensure the integrity and to have the public have confidence in our games they have to know that people do win prizes by people purchasing tickets," he said.

Walton Gray said she understands the need to sell tickets and would agree to a compromise that would keep some personal information secret.

Smith said the lottery tries to respect the wishes of winners to remain anonymous, but the identities of prize winners are subject to Missouri's Sunshine Law, making identity information available to open records request.

Of the 44 states with lottery games, only Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota and Ohio allow blanket anonymity for winners. Other states, including Michigan, New Jersey and Arizona, are considering similar privacy protections.

AP

Comments

LottoPerro

Sounds good for Mizzou.

Ronnie316

Forecasting cloudy days for the "sunshine law"

JoshUK

Awesome, these people need to realise that some winners lives are at risk. There are some crazy people out there and when money is involved it is even worse. Home invasions can end up with deaths.

redhot7's avatarredhot7

Question: for those states like California that currently do not offer anonymity, are winners required to have a news conference? Can the winner ask the lottery not to post their picture but only the name and city?

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Mar 28, 2013

Question: for those states like California that currently do not offer anonymity, are winners required to have a news conference? Can the winner ask the lottery not to post their picture but only the name and city?

I think people can form a trust and send a rep. to do appearances.

redhot7's avatarredhot7

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Mar 28, 2013

I think people can form a trust and send a rep. to do appearances.

Can a winner form a trust if they already sign their name on the back of the ticket?

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Mar 28, 2013

I think people can form a trust and send a rep. to do appearances.

I'm not so sure.  That used to be the common wisdom about these things, but for many states you have no way to hide from the lottery -- if you want the money, that is.  Case In Point

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Mar 28, 2013

Can a winner form a trust if they already sign their name on the back of the ticket?

Good question. Maybe Artist or someone who knows can jump in and help answer that.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by Todd on Mar 28, 2013

I'm not so sure.  That used to be the common wisdom about these things, but for many states you have no way to hide from the lottery -- if you want the money, that is.  Case In Point

Great story, makes you wonder about all the ways an "illegal" lottery ticket purchase can be made?

sully16's avatarsully16

I am sure we'll see many more states follow suit.

HoLeeKau's avatarHoLeeKau

Quote: Originally posted by sully16 on Mar 28, 2013

I am sure we'll see many more states follow suit.

I sure hope you're right sully16.

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Quote: Originally posted by sully16 on Mar 28, 2013

I am sure we'll see many more states follow suit.

I Agree!

whiteballz's avatarwhiteballz

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Mar 28, 2013

Can a winner form a trust if they already sign their name on the back of the ticket?

this is from the 2013 Winner's Handbook from the California Lottery website: http://www.calottery.com/win/winners-handbook

"There will be immediate interest in your story. History tells us the media will likely attempt to contact you. Their efforts are made easier in this day of internet search engines. With that in mind, we urge you to consider taking part in a news conference. We’ll take the headache away by doing the planning for you. Winners have been better able to satisfy these media requests in one shot and get on with their lives"

It says they "urge" you to take part in the news conference. Which means the news conference is optional.

 

Here is other quotes from the first page:

 

"You can form a trust prior to claiming your prize, but understand that your name is still public and reportable."

"According to public disclosure laws, your name is public record. The name and location of the retailer who sold the winning ticket, the date you won, whether your numbers were a Quick Pick® or your own numbers and the amount of your winnings are also matters of public record and are subject to disclosure."

 

 

CLETU$

If this law passes I'll pack up the truck and move the 3 miles to Missouri.Heck,most of the people who work in my hometown live in Missouri or Illinois as it is.Taxes in Missouri are cheaper than Iowas on lottery winnings,too.

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