Virginia Lottery Winners Can Now Stay Anonymous

Good news for anyone in Virginia chasing a big scratch-off or jackpot: as of July 1, 2026, you can win $1 million or more and keep your name out of the public eye. A new state law lowers the prize threshold for anonymity from $10 million all the way down to $1 million, which means far more of the state's biggest winners can now collect quietly.

What the Law Changes

The change comes from House Bill 1799, sponsored by Delegate Scott Wyatt and signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin. Under the old rule, only winners of prizes greater than $10 million could shield their identity, a bar so high that almost no scratch-off or draw-game winner ever cleared it. The new $1 million threshold covers a far wider group: top-prize scratch-off winners and anyone who hits a seven-figure draw-game prize.

The mechanics are spelled out in Virginia Code Section 58.1-4029, which now states that the lottery cannot release information identifying an individual winner unless that winner consents in writing. Starting July 1, the Virginia Lottery also stops publishing the names of Lottery Rewards and second-chance drawing winners on its website.

What Anonymity Does and Does Not Cover

Staying anonymous here means the public and the press cannot pull your name through a records request. It does not make the win invisible to everyone. The Virginia Lottery still verifies your identity internally to pay you and to report the prize, and a jackpot is taxable income whether your name is published or not. If you want the details on that side, our guide on how lottery winnings are taxed covers the federal and state math.

One Thing Worth Doing Now

Because the lottery is pulling winner names off its site, it is leaning more on direct contact. Officials are asking players to log into their Virginia Lottery account and confirm their email address and phone number, since winners of certain prizes are notified by email after drawings. If your contact details are out of date, that is a quick fix worth making so a notification does not slip past you.

Where Virginia Fits In

Virginia now joins the group of states that let sizable winners keep their privacy, a list that has grown as more people weigh the attention, the solicitations, and the safety questions that can follow a public windfall. We cover how this works from the player's side in can you remain anonymous after winning a lottery prize, and for scratch-offs specifically in can you stay anonymous if you win a scratch-off.

For a Virginia player, the upshot is simple and genuinely good: the dream just got a little more private. Win a million or more on a Virginia scratch-off or draw game after July 1, put your request in writing, and you can claim it without your name landing in the news. The prize is the same. What is new is that you get to decide who knows.

Sources

WAVY: Virginia Lottery winners can now remain anonymous under new state law

Code of Virginia: Section 58.1-4029, Disclosure of identity of winners by the Department