Virginia Lottery set to lower disclosure amount for winners

RICHMOND,Va.–LawmakersthissessionvotedtolowertheVirginiaLotterydisclosureamounttoprovidemoreprivacytobig-ticketwinners. Del.ScottWyatt,R-Mechanicsville,introducedHouseBill1799,whichprotectsthepersonalinformationof$1millionormorelotterywinners. VirginiaLotterywinnersarecurrentlyrequiredtoreleasepersonalinformation,includingtheirnameandphoto,foranyamountunder$10million. Forty-fivestateshavelotteries,and21allowwinnerstostayanonymous,accordingtoWorldPopulationReview,whichtracksglobalpopulationdataandtrends.Virginiarequiresthehighestamountneededtostayanonymous. Thoseopposedtothebillbelievetherequireddisclosureaddsneededtransparency,whilethoseinsupportcitedexamplesofpersonalprivacybreachesbecauseofthecurrentlaw. MeganRhyne,executivedirectorfortheVirginiaCoalitionforOpenGovernment,spokeagainstloweringthedisclosureamountduringtheABC-GamingsubcommitteemeetingonJan14. Thecurrentlawwasestablishedtopromotethelotteryanditswinners;essential