Oregon Lottery Winners Gain Right to Remain Anonymous

Posted on: April 30, 2025, 05:38h. 

Last updated on: May 1, 2025, 09:49h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • New law allows Oregon lottery winners to remain anonymous unless they provide written consent
  • Bill bans resale of winning lottery tickets targeting underground ‘discounting’ industry

Oregon lottery winners will no longer be paraded in front of cameras while brandishing outsized novelty checks. That’s after lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that will allow winners to remain anonymous.

Oregon lottery anonymity, HB 3115, lottery discounting, lottery winner privacy, Oregon gambling legislation
Pixelation for the nation: Oregon has become one of a growing number of states that will allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. (Image: Oregon Lottery/Casino.org)

HB 3115 passed the Senate Tuesday by a 23–5 vote after nearly unanimous support in the House and now awaits Governor Tina Kotek’s decision.

The measure breaks with Oregon’s longstanding policy of public disclosure, which is shared by many states. This was previously seen as essential for maintaining public trust in state-run gambling. But it’s also good for business.

The publicity generated by a big jackpot winner usually results in a spike in lottery sales for the subsequent draw.

Oregon is one of 23 states that publicly discloses the names of all lottery winners.

‘Discounters’ Targeted

The U-turn is specifically designed to target the fraudulent practice of “discounting,” where individuals buy winning tickets — sometimes worth millions — for as little as 50 cents on the dollar.

Sellers benefit by dodging garnishments on debts such as unpaid child support, while buyers can redeem the full prize and write off the purchase as a business expense.

This niche market has thrived in Oregon and other states for many years.

The bill prohibits the reselling of tickets and the deduction of the purchase price of lottery tickets from the buyer’s taxable income. The measure allowing anonymity for lottery winners was a late-stage amendment. Under the new law, winners’ names will only be released with their written consent.

Many winners are uncomfortable with becoming a cog in their state lottery’s relentless publicity machine and feel dangerously exposed to potential scammers, freeloaders, and worse.

Lottery Curse

The amendment’s sponsor, Rep. John Lively (D-Springfield), defended the measure as a safeguard against the so-called “lottery curse,” where winners suffer personal and financial fallout after their identities are revealed.

Critics argue the change will benefit online lottery couriers, third parties that enable customers to buy tickets online. These operate in a legally gray area in Oregon, and many other states.

In 2018, the winner of what was then the eighth-biggest jackpot in US history — a $560 million Powerball prize — successfully sued the New Hampshire Lottery for the right to keep her identity secret.

The judge in the case determined the New Hampshire woman, known only as Jane Doe, would be subject to “an alarming amount of harassment, solicitation, and other unwanted communications” should her name be revealed.

Her right to privacy “outweighed the public’s interest in the disclosure of her name,” he ruled.