Doug Bonjour is a veteran sportswriter with more than a decade of experience, including in the realm of sports betting. He’s written for the New York Times, Associated Press, CBS Sports and Hearst Connecticut Media...
Read Full BioOregon lottery winners will soon be able to hide behind the cloak of anonymity.
On Tuesday, state lawmakers approved House Bill 3115, which would eliminate a key transparency measure to preserve the public’s trust in the state lottery.
After passing by 23 votes to 5, the bill now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk for her signature. Notably, according to local news outlet The Oregonian, Kotek has yet to signal her intentions.
Oregon Safety Concerns Raised with Lottery Disclosure of Names
Oregon is one of 23 states that release the names of its lottery winners to the public. This has raised safety concerns amongst proponents of the bill.
Darian Stanford, an attorney who works with TheLotter, a courier service owned by a company in Malta, testified that winners are subject to a “lottery curse,” in which they face doxxing and harassment.
While the Oregon House passed a bill in 2019 that would have granted anonymity to winners of multi-state contests, like Powerball, the measure died in the Senate before it could be brought to a full vote.
Under HB 3115, winners’ names will only be released with written consent.
Resale Markets Also Under Fire
The bill also restricts lottery winners from reselling their tickets to third parties at a discount.
An investigation by the Oregonian found instances in which original tickets are bought for as little as 50 cents on the dollar before they’re resold at full value. This allows sellers to avoid debts such as child support, while winners can write off the purchase as a business expense come tax season.
That measure passed through the House with a 9-1 vote, with Rep. Jamie Cate the lone dissenter.
The bill would effectively prohibit tickets from being resold and also prevent buyers from deducting them from their taxable income.
Transparency a Pressing Issue
Lottery transparency has been a hot topic in the industry recently. The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) unanimously agreed Tuesday to ban couriers from selling tickets online following investigations into a pair of jackpot wins.
Couriers act as third-party vendors by purchasing tickets on the customers’ behalf.
In 2023, a $95 million jackpot was awarded to a single group that spent over $25 million on tickets to purchase nearly every number combination.
In February, a second winning ticket for $83.5 million was bought at a Texas retail store using Jackpocket, a subsidiary of DraftKings Sportsbook.
TLC Executive Director Ryan Mindell resigned on April 21 in the wake of the controversial wins.
