The State Lottery Has A New Rule To Stop Repeat Winners
He's
done it again, and not just for the second, third or even 10th time.
For the 1,246th time this year, Ali Jaafar has hit it big on the
lottery.Get more news about LOTO彩票包网,you can vist nb68.com
State
records show that since Jan. 1 the Watertown man has won more than $1.8
million from lottery retailers all around Massachusetts -- with most of
his riches coming from scratch tickets revealing $1,000 prizes. Jaafar
is on track to be the winningest lotto player in Massachusetts for a
third consecutive year, and nothing yet seems to be getting in his way
when it comes to winning.Not a streak of bad luck. And not a new state
policy designed with the specific purpose of cracking down on people who
rake in large lottery prizes with what many see as remarkable frequency
— winners just like Jaafar.
Announced last year, the policy went
into effect, after a delay, on July 27. It allows lottery officials to
investigate — and ultimately penalize — anyone who wins 20 or more
lottery prizes valued at $1,000 or more within a calendar year. If the
lottery director determines a person's lucky streak is "factually or
statistically improbable," the new policy allows the lottery to freeze
the player's payouts for months.
Lottery records requested by
WBUR reveal, however, that the players with the highest frequency of
winning are still collecting tremendous wins, despite the policy.On Aug.
14, the lottery sent letters to 54 people it says "fit the definition
of 'high-frequency prize winner' " to let them know about the new policy
and its consequences, lottery records show.
"We are enforcing
the policy immediately," reads the letter signed by lottery Executive
Director Michael Sweeney.The lottery declined multiple requests for an
interview and instead asked WBUR to submit questions via email.
"Implementing
this policy is a major step forward in addressing potential issues of
money laundering and other illegal activities and the potential
avoidance of outstanding child support liabilities, and taxes and fees
owed to the Commonwealth," Sweeney said in his emailed responses Monday,
adding that the policy "remains a top compliance issue for me."Since
the policy took effect, Jaafar, each of his two sons and at least 10
others have individually won enough to trigger a potential hold on their
awards. All of those individuals, except for one, were sent letters
notifying them of the policy. But, for those 13 people, lottery records
show the agency did not suspend their prizes.
Together, those
frequent winners — who could have had their prizes withheld under the
new policy — have won about $1.7 million from July 27 to Oct. 9.
Gregory
Sullivan, research director at the Pioneer Institute and the state's
former inspector general from 2002 to 2012, has researched
vulnerabilities in the lottery in the past.
"There is a
phenomenon in state lotteries," he said, "where certain individuals defy
all laws of probability and statistics" with the rate of their success.
He explained that often, people who frequently cash in lottery tickets
aren't winners at all — but are instead collecting wins on behalf of
others trying to evade taxes.
The lottery's Sweeney also says he
believes it is likely frequent cashers are not actually winning — but
cashing in wins for others.
"This is a well-known problem, you
know, not just in Massachusetts," Sullivan said in a phone interview
Tuesday. "But it is a well-known problem in Massachusetts, and it has
been for some time."
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