Why You Should Never Go Public After Winning The Lottery

The odds of winning any U.S.-based lottery is about one in 300 million, depending on which one you choose to play. That being the case, whenever someone does win the lottery, it's usually a pretty big deal — especially if the jackpot is super high. They may get an opportunity to get a spot on the local news, they'll tell all their friends, and it will certainly feel like they're on top of the world for a period of time. And who can blame them? After all, they just won millions of dollars and will likely be financially set for the rest of their lives as long as they don't make any of these common financial mistakes along the way.

However, while it's understandable that when a life changing event like winning the lottery happens to you, you might feel inclined to share the news with everyone you know, it's probably a better idea that you instead try to keep it as low key as possible. While the reason for this may seem obvious for some, it may not ring as true to others. So, that being said, let's take a look at some of the reasons why you should never go public after winning the lottery, and depending on where you live, if that's even possible.

If you're ever in the situation where you find yourself with a winning lottery ticket, it's understandable that you would want to scream from the rooftops that you're going to be financially free forever and weep tears of joy. However, it's probably not the best idea to do so. Going public after winning the lottery could bring a lot of unwanted attention or even danger your way. 

For example, if you decided to go on the news after you won the lottery, you're pretty much letting everyone know that you're now worth millions of dollars, which might not be the safest thing to do for obvious reasons. You could also end up having hundreds of people that you haven't talked to in years reaching out to you asking for money, which obviously would be pretty annoying.

At the same time, is it even possible to remain completely anonymous after winning the lottery? After all, every state has different rules and regulations for lottery winners to follow — much like some states allow you to win the lottery twice — and staying entirely anonymous might not be something that is achievable. That being said, let's take a look at some of the states where lottery winners are incapable of remaining entirely anonymous.

While it's best to try to remain as anonymous as possible if you win the lottery, there are certain limitations to exactly how private you can keep the matter, depending on where you live in the U.S. For example, certain laws in the states of California and Iowa actually require the state lottery to go public with things like what a lottery winner's first and last name are, where they purchased the lottery ticket, how much they won, etc. 

In New York, Vermont, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, your first name, last name, and city of residence are required to be made public. Colorado, however, is a bit more secretive about their lottery winners, and will only post your first name and last initial on their state lottery website. On the other hand, if you win over $100,000 in Arizona, you are allowed to remain entirely anonymous for 90 days after you claim your prize. 

The same is true in the state of Florida if you win over $250,000. Meanwhile, in states like Kentucky and Tennessee, you can only find out the identity of lottery winners by submitting an open records request. All in all, if you do find yourself so lucky as to purchase a winning lottery ticket, make sure you check your state laws to see exactly how anonymous you can actually remain after redeeming it. After all, the less people who know, the better.