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Big-ticket winners will now have more privacy in Virginia as lawmakers have voted to lower the lottery disclosure amount.
The ‘House Bill 1799’ aims to protect the identity of winners and prohibits the Virginia Lottery from disclosing information about any individual winner whose prize is $1 million or greater unless the winner consents to such disclosure.
The bill was approved on Tuesday (March 18) with the current law being that the Department is prohibited from disclosing information about any individual winner whose prize exceeds $10 million.
The new law which will bring in more privacy will go into effect within the next few months, on July 1, 2025.
Do you have to go public if you win the lottery in the US?
While winning the lottery is seemingly every person’s dream, the cons are the lack of privacy with people then knowing how much money has been won.
In the United States, many states require lottery winners to go public but 11 – which are part of the Multi-State Lottery Association which runs the Powerball – states winners have the right to remain anonymous.
These states include Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Often, states will publish the winner’s name, town and winning amount as public record, with some winners having previously gone to great lengths to try and remain private. Depending on the location, some people are able to hide their identity better by claiming the money through a trust.
When a winner is stated in public, this often provides great publicity and marketing materials for the lottery as they’re able to share the person’s story.
Not everywhere requires winners to be anonymous either, as those in the United Kingdom have a choice. The National Lottery gives winners the choice as to whether they remain anonymous or wish to go public and share the news.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
