News writer
Winning the lottery is often described as a dream come true, but for some lucky players in Virginia, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare. From relentless scammers to fake social media accounts, the spotlight that comes with a big win isn't always welcome.
Now, one lawmaker is pushing to let more winners stay in the shadows. A new bill could keep lottery winners of $1 million or more private, sparking a debate over privacy, public trust, and just how much transparency the lottery should offer.
House Bill 1799
A new bill has been filed for General Assembly consideration in 2025. House Bill 1799 was filed by Del. Scott Wyatt, a Republican from Mechanicsville. The bill would prohibit the Virginia Lottery from disclosing information about any winner whose prize is $1 million or greater.
Under this bill, the information would be exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information unless the person provides consent. Currently, the law requires only winners of prizes greater than $10 million to not be identified.
Harassment claims sparks new bill
The need for this new bill came from alleged harassment claims made by a recent Virginia Lottery winner. Wyatt spoke to the House ABC-Gaming Subcommittee recently and said one of his constituents won $1 million in 2020 and received ongoing harassment after the Virginia Lottery published her information online.
Wyatt said that his constituent was not only being contacted by scammers from across the country but numerous social media accounts were created using her picture. This was done after her image was shared by the Virginia Lottery, the Virginia Mercury reported.
Could it reduce the game's integrity?
There are skeptics to this new bill, with subcommittee member Del. Cia Price, a Democrat from Newport News, and Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, expressing concerns that this lack of disclosure could reduce the game's integrity.
How so? They said it could allow for inside dealings with Virginia Lottery employees and their family members, both of whom are prohibited from buying lottery tickets under state code.
Rhyne said:
If you do not have some way to verify that these million dollar winners are not family members, you don't get to know whether or not there are any possible nefarious activities.
Checks are already in place
While there are skeptics, supporters of the bill said there are already checks and balances in place to prevent the above from happening.
Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones said his department verifies the identity of any winners of $600 or more. They do this to see if the winner owes any state debt, which would mean that lottery employees and family members would be spotted during that time.
Jones did add that the lottery website publishes the identity of winners — including the amount won and the town they are from — so the public can identify a real person who won a real prize. He said that they are “dealing with public funds…the public understands that people are winning, for example, and it's not rigged.”
Jones added that a winner must consent in order for the lottery to publish their image, regardless of the amount won. So, the winner mentioned above had to agree to have their picture published, which they claim has led to harassment issues.
Subcommittee chair Del. Paul Krizek, a Democrat from Fairfax, did agree that harassment faced by winners can be a real problem. He said that is why the General Assembly set the disclosure cap at $10 million in 2019.
House Bill 1799 passed the subcommittee in a 6-0 vote, meaning it will move to the General Assembly to discuss and vote on in 2025.
Enjoy playing the Virginia Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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