RICHMOND, Va. — A new law passed by the Virginia General Assembly prohibits the Virginia Lottery from disclosing information about certain winners.
The bill was unanimously passed by the House, and it passed the Senate in a vote of 34 to 5. A similar bill was introduced by Senator Lionell Spruill, Sr. who represents part of Chesapeake.
Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill into law on February 27.
When the bill goes into effect this summer, the Virginia Lottery will not be allowed to release certain information about winners whose prize exceeds $10 million, unless the winner wants to be known.
Under the current Freedom of Information Act, it is mandatory to disclose the winner's name, hometown, and the amount won.
View the full bill below:
The legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2019.
Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas all allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. Arizona and Georgia allow lottery winners to remain anonymous after winning a certain prize amount, like Virginia's new law.
Most states have laws allowing the lottery that sold the ticket to make such information public.