Lottery News

The Florida House has passed a bill that would now allow lottery winners of $250,000 and above to keep their identity private from the public eye for 90 days.

On Wednesday, the Florida House unanimously voted to pass a lottery bill that will prevent winners of $250,000 or more from having to disclose their identity for a limited amount of time. With a vote of 114-1, there was absolutely no debate over the topic. And this one vote against the bill was from State Representative Anthony Sabatini.

Referencing the infamous headlines from Florida and Georgia that have sadly enmeshed a lot of lottery winners, Representative Tracie Davis sponsored the HB 159 bill. David also said, "At some point in our lives, we all dream of winning the lottery, but unfortunately for some people, that dream of winning the lottery, sometimes those dreams become nightmares."

Prime lottery players might remember the famous winner Abraham Shakespeare, who met a tragic end after his supposed friend Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore manipulated and murdered him for the remaining of his $30 million fortune. Moore started his act of friendship with Shakespeare, a couple of years after he won the lottery in 2006, on the grounds that she was writing a book about how people were taking advantage of him and his newfound wealth. Later, the prosecutors also claimed that she became his financial advisor, eventually having a hold over all his assets left, including an expensive home, debt owed to him, and a $1.5 million annuity. When Shakespeare understood what exactly was going on, he threatened to kill her, but Moore got him first! She shot him and buried his body under a concrete slab in her own house in the backyard. And hence, she is currently serving life without parole.

In the last Legislative Session, Senator Tina Polsky and Davis had put forward twin bills advocating for lottery winner anonymity, but neither of them made it into law. Davis' legislation did get passed in the House but did not make it to the Senate floor.

It was Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis who proposed, $250,000 as the minimum prize for anonymity, while Polsky argued that a 90-day limit would be enough to organize security and financial measures.

As of now, the Florida Lottery withholds the addresses and phone numbers of its lottery winners from the public eye. But the names are made public so as to advertise the lottery wins as "real" and legitimate.

The next step for Davis’ bill is to present it in the Senate. The bill requires to be passed by two-thirds votes, to become a law, and come into effect immediately!

If you want to have more info on Florida or other state lotteries in the U.S.A., its popular games, the latest results, or any assistance in how to pick the winning lottery numbers, simply extend your hand towards The Lottery Lab.