Allow Lottery Winners to be Confidential.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Eric Ager and 17 co-sponsors

Allows NC lottery winners of $50M+ to request 90 days of confidentiality for their identity after prize claim, with narrow disclosures for taxes and legal actions.

Passed 1st Reading

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Summary — HB 401 (North Carolina): "Allow Lottery Winners to be Confidential"

Status and timing
- Short title: Allow Lottery Winners to be Confidential.
- Filed: March 13, 2025 (House).
- Procedural status: Passed first reading in the House (March 17, 2025); referred to Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.
- Stated effective date in the bill: July 1, 2025 (if enacted).

Purpose and intent
- To allow a North Carolina lottery prize winner to request that their identifying information be kept confidential in certain circumstances, providing a temporary privacy protection for very large prize winners while preserving necessary tax and legal reporting obligations.

Key provisions
- New limited confidentiality option for very large prizes:
- If a prize winner requests it, the identifying information of a prize winner of $50,000,000 or more is to be treated as confidential under G.S. 132‑1.2(8) until 90 days after the prize is claimed.
- Enumerated exceptions (information may still be disclosed as needed):
1. To notify the North Carolina Department of Revenue (to meet state tax obligations).
2. To notify the Internal Revenue Service.
3. To notify the tax authority of the winner’s state of residence.
4. To comply with the State’s debt set-off program (G.S. 18C‑134 and Chapter 105A).
5. To comply with Article 31 of Chapter 1 (supplemental proceedings against a judgment debtor).
6. To comply with a court order.
- Preserves and cross‑references existing protections:
- Winners already subject to protective orders or enrolled in the Address Confidentiality Program continue to have their information treated as confidential under existing law for the duration of the protective order or program participation.
- Conforming edits to existing G.S. 18C‑132 (procedures for lottery drawings and claiming prizes) to reflect the new confidentiality option and exceptions.

Who is affected
- Primary: North Carolina lottery prize winners (specifically those winning $50 million or more) who want temporary privacy.
- Secondary: North Carolina Education Lottery Commission (responsible for handling claims and confidentiality requests), NC Department of Revenue, IRS, courts, and entities administering debt‑setoff and related proceedings. The public and media may see reduced immediate public disclosure of winner identity for qualifying prizes.

Practical impact and considerations
- Enhances privacy and personal security protections for very large prize winners for a limited period (90 days).
- Maintains necessary governmental access for tax collection and legal processes through specific exceptions.
- Implementation will require administrative handling by the Lottery Commission to accept confidentiality requests and to coordinate permitted disclosures to tax and legal authorities.
- The bill leaves the broader public‑disclosure rules intact except where a qualifying winner requests confidentiality or is already covered by protective orders/address‑confidentiality programs.

Reference
- Amends G.S. 18C‑132; effective date provision included (July 1, 2025).