Names of South Dakota Lottery winners will remain public

The sponsor of a bill that would have allowed some lottery winners to remain anonymous has withdrawn the bill.

Rep. Oren Lesmeister, D-Parade, said Wednesday that he brought the bill on behalf of a constituent. The bill would have allowed people who won prizes of more than $50,000 to remain anonymous. Currently, like most states, South Dakota identifies lottery winners.

“After visiting with the South Dakota Lottery people, we feel it is unnecessary at this time,” Lesmeister said prior to the bill’s hearing.

Lottery winners are typically made public to help ensure the games aren’t rigged and because spreading the names of winners helps market the games. But some privacy advocates argue that publicizing names makes prize winners targets for scammers or violent crime.

More Politics:South Dakota moves to collect data on missing and murdered indigenous women