The winner of the $1,580 million Mega Millions in Florida will be able to stay anonymous for only 90 days after claiming the prize.
The above is a result of the bill HB 159 approved in 2022 in the state legislature and went into effect in March of that year.
The provision applies to winners of amounts of $250,000 or more in lottery prizes.
“The Legislature found that it is a public necessity that the name of the winner of a lottery prize of $250,000 or more be kept confidential and exempt from Florida statutes and Article 1 of the State Constitution for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless the winner waives that exception“, read the text of the law.
After those 90 days (about 3 months), the name of the person will be considered public information.
The statute was approved to incentivize the safety of lottery jackpot winners.
“People earning valuable prices have been targets of violent crimes and non-violent based on publicly available identifying information. For this reason, the Legislature found that it is a public necessity to temporarily maintain confidentiality and keep the status of that information exempt, ”explains the legislative text.
“The Legislature found that the damage that may result from the disclosure of the name of the winner of a lottery prize of $250,000 or more exceeds the public benefit that could be derived from the disclosure of the information,” the document adds.
Given these circumstances, the name of the top prize winner from last Tuesday’s draw could be known much later than expected.
Under Florida Lottery rules, jackpot winners have a maximum period of 180 days to claim the money before the entity’s offices in Tallahassee.
However, if you prefer that the funds be disbursed in a single cash payment, the claim time is reduced to 60 days.
The winning numbers for the Mega Millions draw on August 8 were: 13,19,20,32,33, and the Mega Ball, 14.
Estimated cash value is $783.3 million.
The winning ticket of the $1,580 million was sold at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, in the Jacksonville area. The establishment is located, specifically, at 630 Atlantic Blvd.
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