A Lottery Winner in the US is Fighting for Privacy
While there is always the risk of losing money at UK online casino sites, it pales in comparison to the reported loss a woman is taking in the United States because of a lottery win. The woman from the state of New Hampshire is currently embroiled in a fight to stay anonymous after she won the $560 million Powerball jackpot. According to her attorney, the woman is currently losing about $14,000 every day from lost interest on the win.
Court records identify the woman as “Jane Doe” to protect her identity and state that she signed the winning ticket without first consulting an attorney. The woman has admitted that not doing so was a mistake and now knows she could have created a trust in which to place the winnings.
The issue is the current law in New Hampshire. This law states that an individual’s hometown, winnings, and name become public record after a lottery win. Fortunately, the unnamed woman will get a day in court to resolve the matter. Officials at the lottery claim they might be compelled to reveal her identity if someone files what is known as a Right to Know Act request. However, her lawyer stresses that privacy for the individual should outweigh public interest.
Many lottery winners choose to remain anonymous to avoid exposure to the media, and the same scenario can be seen with players who win progressive jackpots at online casinos. A recent player who won the Mega Fortune jackpot on the NetEnt slot game chose to remain anonymous. The win took place at a UK online casino and the player is British, but no other information was made available in order to conceal the player’s identity.
However, some winners of a large jackpot don’t mind the time in the spotlight. The largest win ever on an online slot with a progressive jackpot. This win occured in 2015 and the player was Jon Heywood, another Briton who found his luck at the right time playing at an online casino. The progressive jackpot win totalled an astonishing £13,209,300 and Heywood engaged in a considerable amount of publicity afterwards. This jackpot was won on the Mega Moolah progressive slot. The game is one of many from the developer Microgaming, a popular provider of online casino content throughout the industry.
Most legal experts say that choosing to remain anonymous or not is ultimately the player’s choice, unless the online casino has terms that oblige the player to make the win public. Regardless of what any player chooses, speaking with an attorney is a very important step in the process of accepting a lottery or jackpot win.
