What's happening
This bill allows New York state lottery winners to remain anonymous upon written request, preventing public disclosure of their identities.
Why it matters
Protects lottery winners from unwanted attention or potential harassment. by allowing them to keep their identity private, which can reduce risks such as scams, solicitations, or even threats to personal safety.
Shifts the balance between public transparency and individual privacy. , signaling a legislative choice to prioritize personal security and autonomy over the traditional practice of public winner announcements.
May affect public trust and the marketing appeal of the lottery. by removing the visibility of real winners, which could influence how people perceive the legitimacy and excitement of lottery games.
Introduces a formal, written process for requesting anonymity. , ensuring that winners have clear and accessible means to control their own privacy, rather than being subject to automatic disclosure.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Lottery Winners Stay Anonymous
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Substituted by A716
- Ordered to third reading cal.1810
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to racing, gaming and wagering
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 63–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1361
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to racing, gaming and wagering
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Lottery Winners Stay Anonymous
Vetoed · Sponsor Aileen Gunther
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
219
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. MARCHIONE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to permitting state lottery winners to remain anonymous to the general public
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 1613 of the tax law, as amended by chapter 426 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
a. It shall be the duty of the director to require that all prizes over five thousand dollars in any game be awarded to holders of winning tickets for that game as provided in this section and section sixteen hundred fourteen of this article. Within one week after any drawing or selection of prize winning lottery tickets, the division shall deliver to the comptroller a certified list of the tickets to which prizes are awarded and the amount of each such prize. Upon receipt of such certified list and voucher of the division, moneys sufficient for the payment of such prizes shall be paid to the division from the lottery prize account, upon audit and warrant of the comptroller. Moneys for the payment of lottery prizes shall be deposited by the director as provided in section sixteen hundred eleven of this article and the withdrawal of such moneys for the payment of prize winners shall be subject to a check signed by the director or such officers or employees of the division as the director may designate. The division shall each month provide the comptroller with a record of all such withdrawals from the director's accounts. Payment of prizes shall be made by the division to holders of the tickets to which prizes are awarded, except that payment of any prize drawn may be paid to the estate of a deceased prize winner, may be paid pursuant to a court order granted as a result of a proceeding as provided in subdivision d of this section, and except that any person
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02947-02-7
S. 219 2
pursuant to an appropriate judicial order may be paid the prize to which the winner is entitled. The division shall not publicly disclose the name, address or other identifying information of any holder of a winning ticket or require any winning ticket holder to perform any public actions in connection with the awarding, payment or collection of prize moneys where a holder of a winning ticket provides a written request to the division. The division shall be discharged of all further liability upon payment of a prize pursuant to this subdivision.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to permitting state lottery winners to remain anonymous to the general public
Purpose
To protect the privacy of NYS lottery winners by limiting the disclosure of identifying information of any holder of a winning ticket.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends subdivision a of section 1613 of the tax law to allow the nondisclosure of personal identifying information of NYS lottery winners with a written request from the holder of the winning ticket.
Section 2 states the effective date.
Justification
In recent years, high jackpot lottery drawings seem to be more common. The benefits of winning such a lottery are obvious and well known. However, there are other consequences of being a "lucky" winner - especially when identifying information about the winner is publicly disclosed. Lottery winners are besieged with requests. Sometimes the requests are legitimate (e.g. charitable donation), sometimes they are frivolous (e.g. speculative business ventures). Some requests are just scams. Public disclosure of a lottery winner's identifying information makes the winner vulnerable to this sort of activity. More importantly, it can make the lottery winner a target of criminal activity. This can include burglary, kidnapping, harassment, fraudulent lawsuits, etc.
Unfortunately, in today's economic climate, winning the lottery has become the American Dream for some people. For those lucky enough to win the lottery, protections should be in place to preserve their privacy and well-being. By addressing this issue, this legislation will maintain privacy and protect lottery winners from potential criminal activity.
Legislative history
S.4646 of 2015-16 passed Senate S.1349 of 2013-14 referred to Racing, Gaming & Wagering S.7315 of 2011-12 referred to Racing, Gaming & Wagering
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.