No Anonymity for Lottery Winners

3rd October 2008 7:39 PM

If you were lucky enough to have a nice lottery win you may want to shout it from the rooftops, there again you may want to keep your good fortune to yourself, big wins can also come with a certain amount of strife and it’s understandable why some winners prefer to keep their anonymity. However there’s no anonymity for lottery winners in Washington as a judge rules that all names of people winning public money should be a public record.

This is a blow to one couple from Yakima, Washington who won $6.6 million in October of last year in the states Pick 6 lotto. Michael and Michele Villegas hired a lawyer to claim their lottery prize and requested a court order to prevent the release of their names on the grounds of protecting their privacy and guaranteeing the safety of their children.

Unfortunately for the couple Lottery officials from Washington objected to their request and the case was handed to a judge who has rules there is to be no anonymity for lottery winners from the state.

The couples lawyers have managed to hold up the process of releasing their names by taking nine months to complete the paperwork required to release the names, this has meant that the names have only just been released.

Many lottery winners from around the world choose to stay anonymous for several reasons and although many of us would shout our good luck from the rooftops it’s difficult to understand why a lottery cannot guarantee anonymity for its winners if they choose it. The case has interesting implications for lotteries across the world.
 

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