Will The $1.05BN Lottery Winner Remain Anonymous?

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Will the 2021 Michigan Mega Millions $1.05 billion winner be revealed or can they stay anonymous?

The world sat up and widened its collective eyes back in January when one lucky player from Michigan landed an eye-watering $1.05billion jackpot from the Mega Millions lottery - the third biggest windfall to trigger in US history.

The winning ticket was purchased from a Kroger store in Novi - prevailing over staggering odds of 302.5 million to one. The shop generously donated its $50,000 fee for selling the winning ticket to a local food shelter. The lucky winners have the choice of how they accept the prize money - as a lump sum or as a graduated annuity. What would you do?

Now the jackpot has been won, Michigan residents are side-eye emoji-ing their way around their neighbourhoods, looking for evidence of new cars, jacuzzis, and private planes that may point to a newly anointed billionaire residing in their backyard. They won't have to wait for long to find out who the lucky compatriot is though - under current rules, the winning ticket holder's identity must be revealed by state law.

How much longer will the state law remain in place though?

A bill put forward by Rep. Pat Outman, of R-Six Lakes, believes that multi-state jackpot winners should remain anonymous. The arguments for protecting jackpot winners, according to Mr Outman, include warding off harassment and prioritizing the player's safety from unscrupulous individuals wanting a piece of the pie.

The bill is now under further consideration with the House Committee On Regulatory Reform, according to Mr Outman, under House Bill 4218.

The state law isn't applied nationwide - indeed, many neighboring states allow anonymity.

We have put together a list of the pros and cons of the new bill - check them out below:

Pros

• It ensures deserving winners live out their wildest dreams in peace and quiet. Families with young children are shielded from the public eye.
• The control is very much meted out to the winning player. They can decide who knows about their newfound riches and who in their life will benefit from it.
• Winning players will have much more control over their finances, deciding how and where they invest without outside influence.

Cons

• There is a potential case that by showing the real person who scooped the jackpot, it brings colour to the story and promotes the overall lottery - which in turn can increase the contribution to good causes

Where would a $1.05bn prize place you on the world's rich list?

Even a whopping lotto prize such as the Mega Millions jackpot wouldn't even get you close to the top 100 richest people in the world.

At the top of that pile is Jeff Bezos - the boss of Amazon is worth a staggering $187billion. Coming in at 100 is Indian pharmaceutical mogul Dilip Shanghvi, who boasts $16billion in personal wealth.

On Comparethelotto.com/us you can compare details of all the lotteries available to play in your state.

Remember, playing the lottery should always be fun. You should only ever spend what you can comfortably afford.