Oregon legislators push bill to ban sale of winning lottery tickets and allow anonymous claims

Comment #15

KY Floyd — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 05:15:16 GMT

Whoever ultimately claims the ticket would have to pay taxes on it, there is no way around that.

Have you ever heard of tax brackets and deductions? If somebody claims a really big jackpot it will probably almost all be taxed at the highest rate and any deductions they have will be insignificant. OTOH, if somebody wins 10k and all of it falls into the top bracket and they claim $1,000 in gambling losses they'll lose $3,330 to federal taxes. If they can sell it to somebody for $8,000 they ge... [ More ]

Comment #14

Brock Lee — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 02:21:01 GMT

you have to go on each state's lottery website to find where the claim centers are. i wonder if that's something todd and the gang could put somewhere on lotterypost. on the topic of west coast state lotter claim centers, i looked at the claim centers for california and they have a map of them

https://www.calottery.com/en/about-us/district-offices

they got 9 and they're kind of clustered in the major population centers, but not it's not as bad as oregon.

Comment #13

Think — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:08:35 GMT

Michigan has only Lansing for tickets over 99,999. You can cash up to 10 tickets worth up to $99,999 a piece at cashing centers here the last I understood.

This leads a lot of people to buy multiple Fantasy 5 tickets with the same numbers so each ticket will be under 99,999 each if the numbers hit.

Is there a list that someone compiled of the various state cashing centers/policies

Comment #12

Brock Lee — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 05:16:41 GMT

oregon lottery has only two claim offices, and both are a stone's throw from portland way over in the northwest corner. if they don't want players outside the northwest corner of the state to sell their winning tickets, maybe they should open up another claim center in bend or klamath falls or grants pass. washington state has 6 claim centers and they had the sense to spread them out a little bit.

Comment #11

Stack47 — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 04:42:20 GMT

The problematic behavior, legislators argue, is that the practice enables tax evasion.

How the Oregon Lottery processes prizes over $600 must be very different than in the states where I collected winnings requiring a W2-G. The individual state tax agencies and the IRS have copies so even if a person doesn't report the winnings, they will eventually hear from tax agencies.

According the Oregon Revenue site, Owing money to the government can be frightening, but we're here to help you. Ev... [ More ]

Comment #10

JustMaybe — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 23:56:57 GMT

I agree everyone should pay their fair share of taxes.

I have watched enough documentaries on how big corporates avoid paying taxes through shell companies, off shore accounts, tax havens and imaginary losses.

If you and I are paying more taxes than our tech billionaires because they can use the same tax code to their advantage - that doesn't make me a happy tax payer

Comment #9

Artist77 — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 20:44:32 GMT

Paying someone $ under the table is a criminal act

Tax avoidance is also specifically against the law.

So both parties are in violation of the law.

Comment #8

Todd — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:06:35 GMT

The tax code is intricate. Just like in Massachusetts, where there have been scandals about retailers who buy winning tickets from customers and then cash them themselves, this method opens doors to cheating their way out of taxes. I'm not going to get into a detailed tax discussion, but the fact is that players are reselling their winners to avoid taxes, and it's wrong. Everyone should pay their fair share, right

Comment #7

JustMaybe — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:01:38 GMT

I totally get the option to mail in the winning checks. Some people do it and some may not be trusting enough.

There have also been cases of mail theft by the postal workers.

Last week a postal worker in Washington was found guilty of stealing 1.6M in checks and such.

I feel the motive to avoid paying debt and child support would be a valid reason to enforce the law.

However, the tax avoidance argument does not make sense for me. Whoever ultimately claims the ticket would have to... [ More ]

Comment #6

Todd — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:55:14 GMT

Most lotteries allow you to mail winning tickets, so you have an option if the headquarters is far away. Mail can be insured too, so no issues there.

I personally don't think any lottery should allow the resale of winners, because it mainly allows winners to avoid paying back child support and taxes.

Edit: Regarding the mailing of winning tickets, there was even a case back in 2001 before Lottery Post started its news section when the winner of a $46 million Big Game jackpot in New Jerse... [ More ]

Comment #5

Artist77 — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:52:14 GMT

? I was referring to the legal nexus-connection to still enforce the proposed law in your scenario (selling the ticket out of state) . The ticket has to be claimed in Oregon.

Comment #4

Think — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:36:04 GMT

Of course they purchased the ticket! Some tickets may be comped in promotions but, yes, generally that is how people get lottery tickets...they purchase them

Comment #3

JustMaybe — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:31:44 GMT

I get the argument for and against the sale of winning tickets.

I feel like it depends with the motive.

It makes sense to me to sell if the issue is the distance to the claim office and the lack of transportation.

I would be a very unhappy child if my parent did that to avoid paying my child support - that right there is an evil motive.

Comment #2

Artist77 — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:59:59 GMT

The ticket would still have to be cashed in Oregon (the legal nexus) so still a likely violation of the proposed law. I am sure winners will be asked if they purchased the ticket.

Comment #1

Think — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:55:39 GMT

Boy once that headline gets out there I can see all the backlash from banning the sale of winning lottery tickets

At any rate it seems that law would only be valid in Oregon? This would create a major loophole in that you could take your tickets to a neighboring state and sell them there? (obviously to people who would cash them in Oregon)

Spaghetti logic at it's finest

Oregon legislators push bill to ban sale of winning lottery tickets and allow anonymous claims

Lottery Post — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 13:15:06 GMT

Two-in-one bill tackles tax evasion and lottery winner privacy

By Kate Northrop

A big lottery bill that simultaneously aims to crack down on tax evasion and enforce lottery winner privacy passed with flying colors in the Oregon House of Representatives last week.

Lawmakers are looking to make some significant changes to the Oregon Lottery this legislative session that will significantly impact players claiming prizes.

On March 17, the Oregon House of Representatives passed House