A man from Baghdad, Iraq has won a .4 million jackpot in the Oregon lottery, raising concerns since apparently he bought the lottery ticket while he was in Iraq.
The 37-year old man, an Iraqi Kurd who was not identified showed up with the paper to prove that he had won the jackpot, told them he had set up a local bank account, and requested that the money be paid into it annually. He said his life would be in danger if his name became known.
This was awkward for the officials since Oregon law requires making lottery winners’ names public.
The man said he purchased the lottery ticket in August, but not in Oregon. He purchased the ticket through thelotter.com, which is based on the island of Malta. The ticket was printed from a deli located near Bend, Oregon.
Thelotter.com brags that it sells lottery tickets from all over the world, such as Powerball in the U.S.
The Oregon Lottery is now investigating to determine if international sales of lottery tickets is legal. It isn’t claiming that the mysterious winner did anything wrong, or that he was anyone other than who he claimed he was.
Lottery Director Jack Roberts said that they made an exception to the anonymity rule because “I didn’t want to be responsible if one of his kids gets kidnapped. It’s my decision that the need for his safety outweighs the public’s need to know.”
He conceded that a court could eventually overrule him.
It is not unheard of for foreign residents to win U.S. lottery jackpots. However it is thought that the Iraqi winner is the largest to be purchased from the U.S. through an online dealer.
The law appears to be murky on the subject. Federal law doesn’t allow the sale of lottery tickets between two states unless both states agree. Online gambling is illegal in most states. However, buying a lottery ticket online is a gray area, say legal scholars.
Thelotter.com says it doesn’t take wagers, but acts as a “messenger service” making money from transaction fees.
According to the company, quoted by the New York Times, “We physically purchase the official tickets through our reliable and secure local offices located in more than 25 countries and make a scanned copy available to the players’ secure personal accounts, which confirms their ownership. When a player wins, he is entitled to claim the prize in person.”
