16 Tex. Admin. Code § 401.324 - Prize Winner Election to Remain Anonymous

(a) A natural person who is a prize winner of a lottery prize in an amount equal to $1 million or more, or who is an owner of a beneficial interest in a legal entity that is a prize winner of a lottery prize in an amount equal to $1 million or more, may on the date the winner claims the prize elect to remain anonymous and prohibit all personally identifiable information from being released to the public.

(1) A prize winner who elects to remain anonymous must specify that choice at the time of claiming their lottery prize.

(2) If the prize is paid in periodic installments, and the prize winner elects to remain anonymous, the commission may release the prize winner's name on or after the 30th day after the date the person claims the lottery prize. All other personally identifiable information is subject to section 466.022(b)(3) of the State Lottery Act and the Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552).

(b) "Prize winner" means a person who presents a valid winning ticket, claims a lottery prize, and is recognized by the commission as the person entitled to receive lottery prize payments. The term does not include an assignee of a lottery prize.

(c) "Personally identifiable information" means information that alone or in conjunction with other information identifies an individual, including an individual's name, social security number, date of birth, or government-issued identification number such as a driver's license or passport. "Personally identifiable information" does not include the name of the prize winner's city or county of residence.

(d) The amount of a lottery prize is determined by the total amount of prize money paid to a prize winner for a single lottery prize claim, before deducting any federal tax withholdings or other deductions required by law. If a prize winner selects to receive the cash value option, the amount the commission paid to fund the cash value option (before taxes and other deductions) will be considered the prize money paid. In accordance with lottery claim procedures, all prizes resulting from a single lottery ticket will be combined on a single lottery claim form and considered a single lottery prize claim for determining the total amount of prize money paid.

(e) The commission may release the name of a legal entity that is a prize winner as well as the name of the authorized representative of the legal entity (whose name is printed on the lottery claim form), unless the authorized representative is a beneficial interest owner of the legal entity and elects to remain anonymous.

(f) A prize winner's choice to remain anonymous under this rule does not prohibit the commission from requiring, for claim validation and lottery prize processing purposes, certain government-issued identification, including but not limited to a driver's license, social security card, or passport, of all natural persons who are prize winners or owners of a beneficial interest of a legal entity prize winner.

(g) In certain instances, the lottery prize claim processing may be delayed and not occur on the same date the lottery claim is submitted to the commission. In these cases, the day of final validation and processing of the lottery prize will be considered the "date on which the claim is made".

(h) The commission may release personally identifiable information of lottery prize winners to other state agencies or governmental bodies as required by law.

Notes

16 Tex. Admin. Code § 401.324

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 42, October 20, 2017, TexReg 5856, eff. 10/26/2017