Winning the lottery jackpot in games like Mega Millions not only generates satisfaction, but also risks. The fact that overnight a person can win $1,100 million dollars, like the ones being raffled tonight, makes it potential victim of thieves and swindlers.
This is why some states in the United States allow lottery winners to remain anonymous or not reveal their identity. However, the rules of anonymity vary depending on the demarcation.
“Some states require their lottery offices to publicly identify the winners, while others do not”, indicates the Lottery. “Check with the Lottery in your jurisdiction”, they add.
In some cases, the winners can remain anonymous for a certain period of time or depending on the amount of money obtained. For example, in Arizona the names of people who earn $600 or more remain confidential for 90 days from the date that the lucky winner was the winner.
In the cases of those who win $90,11 or more, they can choose to keep their names permanently hidden.
Last May, the Florida legislature passed a law allowing winners of $250,000 remain anonymous for 90 days. After that period, information such as name, city of residence, date on which the lottery was won and the amount would be available upon request by third parties
In the case of states such as New Jersey, legislation was passed last year that gives winners the option to permanently hide their identity. The law also prevents the information of the lucky ones from being available for public inspection in government spaces.
In states such as Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Delaware, Ohio, South Carolina, Maryland and North Dakota , winners may choose to remain anonymous.
Similarly, Missouri Lottery officials are not authorized to release winners’ names unless approved by them.
The same procedure applies in Montana.
In the case of New York, California and New Hampshire, the winners have to make their identity public.
In this last state, a lawsuit was reported in March 2018 in which the winner of nearly $303 million dollars requested that her personal information not be revealed. His claim prevailed in Court.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington DC and the Virgin Islands. The draws are every Tuesday and Friday at 11 pm, so tonight millions of people will be waiting for the results.
The odds of winning the jackpot for this lottery game are 1 in 303 million.
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