Bill shielding Arizona lottery winners set for Senate vote

Feb 10, 2015, 9:22 am (15 comments)

Arizona Lottery

Winners of large Arizona lottery jackpots would have their names kept secret for three months to give them time to prepare for their newfound wealth and shield their financial affairs under a bill set for a Senate vote Monday.

The bill by Republican Sen. John Kavanagh is a more limited version of a bill he pushed in 2013 when he was in the House that would have kept winners' names secret forever. The bill failed in the Senate.

The Arizona Republic editorial staff objected to the original bill. The attorney for The Republic and Phoenix television station KPNX testified in 2013 that shielding winners' names would impair public accountability and the appearance of fairness by hindering the ability of the press and the public to monitor the Lottery's action.

Kavanagh's revised bill was still opposed Monday by KPNX's lawyer, although he said it was much better than the previous version.

"This is an infinitely better bill than the one in 2013," attorney Chris Moeser said.

Moeser said he hopes the bill will be amended to give winners 45 or 60 days to get their affairs in order. He noted that a winner already has 180 days to claim their prize, giving them plenty of time to prepare for their names to be made public.

Kavanagh first pushed the bill after a Phoenix-area man won half of a $587 million Powerball jackpot in late 2012. The man's name was released under state public-records laws.

The bill, however, would still require the disclosure of a prize-winners' hometown and would allow the Arizona Lottery to publicly present a giant check to winners who agree.

"It occurred to me to put your name so quickly put out into the public really would subject you to a lot of problems," Kavanagh said. "The safety problems, like your kid being kidnapped or burglarizing your house when you're suddenly worth $10-$20 million dollars, to the little things like suddenly everybody who's an investment adviser is hounding you."

The Senate Commerce Committee two weeks ago approved the bill on a 7-0 vote, and Monday Senate Bill 1047 goes to a full Senate vote. If it passes, it goes to the House for action.

The Arizona Lottery did not oppose the bill.

The large majority of 44 states participating in Powerball require winners to be publicly identified, and some require winners to appear at a press conference for a presentation.

Arizona Republic, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Marilyn222's avatarMarilyn222

I wish they do the same here in Colorado. I hate to see myself in this maskClown

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

This new bill in the land of RONNIE is pure bull crap. They should go back to the original bill which provides better protection for the winners. The Arizona Republic and  KPNX should butt out of this issue.

Ron5995

There are legitimate concerns hiding winner identities, and lotteries like to publicize winner names. However, at some point the perceived risk to players becomes too large to ignore - or to put it another way, players increasingly shy away from playing large jackpot games, and by extension the lottery in general, which hurts revenue. It's simply a matter of time before most lotteries go the way PA Lottery, and others have, shielding winner identities for business reasons.

Personally, the winner identity issue, though greatly improved now for PA, is always in the back of my mind when deciding to play any large jackpot game. It seems better to win a few million or less - still a nice chunk of money, but comes with far less issues. Though, as the murder of the elderly Detroit ~$20K winner illustrates, there's still some risk, but is far more manageable - don't go telling friends, posting on Facebook, Tweeting, etc - keep it on the downlow; don't check the ticket at the retailer - go directly to a lottery office to redeem. Simple common sense stuff.

shadowlady's avatarshadowlady

Quote: Originally posted by Marilyn222 on Feb 10, 2015

I wish they do the same here in Colorado. I hate to see myself in this maskClown

I agree with you (being in Colorado myself). 

My husband and I agree that we would need a financial advisor, but I know that I would be strongly in favor of creating a corporation to claim the taxes through, so that would be one layer between us and the general public. 

And if forced to have my picture taken, I would wear one of my wigs that I use for Cosplay, hat, large sunglasses, and some weird funky outfit, and maybe use my cosplay makeup to make me look really different.

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by shadowlady on Feb 10, 2015

I agree with you (being in Colorado myself). 

My husband and I agree that we would need a financial advisor, but I know that I would be strongly in favor of creating a corporation to claim the taxes through, so that would be one layer between us and the general public. 

And if forced to have my picture taken, I would wear one of my wigs that I use for Cosplay, hat, large sunglasses, and some weird funky outfit, and maybe use my cosplay makeup to make me look really different.

Well, shadowlady, the lottery headquarters wouldn't allow you to do that AND still receive the monies ... so, you'd have to decide which you want more.

maximumfun's avatarmaximumfun

So they are calling this bill the "run and hide" bill?  or the "catch me if you can" bill?  or "tag"?

Artist77's avatarArtist77

I am always annoyed when a lottery says well they have x number of days to get things together before they claim so what is the problem???  I can only imagine worrying 24/7 about that ticket before I claimed it. The lottery people should be more in touch with that concern a big winner would have.

CDanaT's avatarCDanaT

Well Arizona...at least your leaders are trying...give em a kudos for that !

mediabrat's avatarmediabrat

Well, of course the local TV station and newspaper would be against this.  They don't get their precious media circus!  Don't get me wrong, I think the media play a very important role in trying to keep our institutions honest, but they also enjoy hounding ordinary folks to pump up their ratings and circulation numbers.

Shelby Mustang

Quote: Originally posted by mediabrat on Feb 12, 2015

Well, of course the local TV station and newspaper would be against this.  They don't get their precious media circus!  Don't get me wrong, I think the media play a very important role in trying to keep our institutions honest, but they also enjoy hounding ordinary folks to pump up their ratings and circulation numbers.

It doesnt have to be a circus. You can say as much or as little as you want but we as losing players do need to know that an actual living breathing person has won and not some anonymous ghost who we cant put a face and name together on

Romancandle's avatarRomancandle

Quote: Originally posted by Shelby Mustang on Feb 13, 2015

It doesnt have to be a circus. You can say as much or as little as you want but we as losing players do need to know that an actual living breathing person has won and not some anonymous ghost who we cant put a face and name together on

We or you need to know?

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

A move in the right direction but should be permanent with no time restrictions.

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

"He noted that a winner already has 180 days to claim their prize, giving them plenty of time to prepare for their names to be made public."

What an incredible disconnect.  Do they even cut a check the same day that a person goes to confirm the ticket?  Or does it take 3, 6 or more weeks,  or even months depending on the state?  How does one prepare without getting payment?

myturn's avatarmyturn

Arizona Lottery should look at lotteries around the world, such as the UK National Lottery and Australian State Lotteries, who are required by law to give winners the right to anonymity. It works very well, the UK and Australian lotteries are the best run lotteries in the world.

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