Arizona becomes the last state to protect the names of lottery winners

April 18, 2019, 02:09 GMT

By Associated press

PHOENIX – Arizona has joined a growing number of states, allowing lottery lottery winners to remain anonymous on Wednesday after Republican Governor Doug Ducey signs a law authorizing jackpot winners of $ 100,000. or more to ask that their name not be made public.

This decision comes as privacy concerns are increasingly outweighing the wishes of lottery groups to publicize winners to increase sales and show that games are fair.

Four years ago, only five states allowed anonymous winners, but their number has now increased to at least 10. A handful of others allow trusts to claim prizes.

Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said in a statement that the new law would protect Arizona's privacy rights while maintaining the current guarantees that guarantee the integrity of the Arizona lottery.

"Winning the lottery should not be at the expense of privacy or the safety of someone," Ptak said.

Just two weeks ago, the Democratic Governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, expressed her opposite point of view and refused to sign a similar measure to prioritize transparency.

"Of course, the governor is clear on the concerns raised by the promoters, namely that some bad actors could take advantage of lottery winners if their names are made public," spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said in a statement. But "the neo-mexicans should have all confidence in the games organized by the lottery".

At least eight state legislatures have considered measures protecting the names of the winners this year, and the governors of Virginia and Arizona have signed their law.

Nancy Barto, representative of the Republican state, presented the measure of Arizona, saying that she wanted to protect the winners from harassment, or worse, if their names were made public. Current law allowed the Arizona winners to remain anonymous for 90 days.

Last week, a spokesman for the Arizona Lottery said it was important to name the winners in order to preserve the transparency and integrity of the system. The lottery did not officially take position on the bill, which was later passed by the Legislature in accordance with state policy.

"The only way for the public to obtain an absolute guarantee of integrity as winners of these awards is to know who will win these awards," said the lottery spokesman. State John Gilliland.

Lottery fraud is a concern. In 2017, a programmer from the Multi-State Lottery Association was sentenced to 25 years in prison for rigging a computer program that allowed him to win winning numbers in games in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma. between 2005 and 2011.

The executive director of the Iowa-based lottery association, which runs the Powerball game in 44 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, said he understands why some states are opting for the winners' secret.

"However, the disclosure of winners' names is one way that lotteries are working to keep the process transparent," said the association's executive director, J. Bret Toyne, in a statement released last week. "It shows the public that ordinary people are winning prizes at random."