The Christian Science Monitor asks whether lottery winners should be kept secret…
Lawmakers in Michigan and New Jersey think so, proposing bills to allow anonymity because winners are prone to falling victim to scams, shady businesses, greedy distant family members and violent criminals looking to shake them down.
Lotteries object, arguing that publicizing the winners’ names drives sales and that having their names released ensures that people know there isn’t something fishy afoot, like a game rigged so a lottery insider wins.
Last year, Urooj Khan of Chicago was found dead from cyanide poisoning the day after collecting a $425,000 prize. With much bigger prizes in the news lately, it seems like a good question to ask.
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