Should Lotto Winners Be Allowed To Stay Anonymous?

The biggest lotteries regularly have jackpots in the hundreds of million of dollars, instantly catapulting the winners into super-rich status. But is there a downside to your life changing in an instant like this?

One of the first decision that big jackpot winners need to make is whether or not to go public with the news of their win. This can include revealing their name, location, job and other personal details to the media.

At the very least this often leads to distant friends or family coming out of the woodwork looking for handouts, and at the worst jackpot winners have been robbed or even murdered for their newfound wealth.

In 2016 a $450,000 jackpot winner was murdered during a home invasion in Georgia, and in 2010 Abraham Shakespeare was found buried under concrete after he had won $431 million. His friend was later convicted of his murder.

In certain states in America lottery winners are required by law to disclose their winnings. The argument behind the law is that this transparency helps protect the integrity of the lottery game itself.

A $560 million winner from New Hampshire sued the lottery board in order to collect her prize in anonymity because revealing her identity would "constitute a significant invasion of her privacy." The judge ruled in her favour.

In order to protect their anonymity many lottery players are purchasing their tickets online. Because online lottery agents operate globally they are often do not fall under states laws that require jackpot winners to go public with their wins.

Play any of the big lotteries at Giant Lottos and keep your winnings a secret!

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