DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Even a jackpot isn’t enough to buy anonymity for many lottery winners, whose names are often made public by state law.
But now it’s becoming increasingly possible for big winners to hide their identity, and lottery executives are trying to strike a balance between ensuring privacy and safety while still proving to the public that real people can win.
Andrew Stoltmann is an Illinois attorney who has represented winners. He says forcing people to reveal their names is like “throwing meat into a shark-infested ocean.”
On the other hand, gambling experts and others say, allowing winners to collect jackpots in secret invites public suspicion and makes it easier for cheating to go undetected.