Advice for Lottery Winners in Canada

Just won big on the Lotto 649? Got lucky on the much larger US Powerball jackpot? (which can now be played from within Canada!) Or maybe you’re waiting to cash in a big prize on a charity lottery. Before you do, we have some useful advice for lottery winners in Canada.

No matter where the money is coming from, lottery winners in Canada have many considerations before and after they cash that colossal cheque. It might not be the first thing you’re thinking about, but there are important financial, legal, and personal matters to consider before you start dreaming of mansions and yachts.

Before Winning the Lottery in Canada

 

Be sure to do the following to protect your ticket:

 

  • Keep your ticket stored in a safe place no one else knows about
  • Take your ticket to a reputable lottery retailer to check it and be sure you keep a close eye on the cashier helping you
  • Contact Jackpot Lawyer immediately after a win to make sure your ticket is protected, but your options stay open

 

After Winning the Lottery in Canada

 

Get in Touch with Jackpot Lawyer to Stay Anonymous

 

The sooner you get in touch with Jackpot Lawyer after winning the lottery in Canada, the better. We’ll be able to offer you advise you on the very first steps to take toward anonymity. A free and completely confidential consultation allows you to explore your options with no obligation. Jackpot Lawyer is happy to offer advice to lottery winners in Canada regardless of the circumstances of their win, whether they’ve signed their ticket or not, or whether they’ve decided if they’d like to remain anonymous or accept their winnings publicly.

 

Cool Off & Make a Plan

 

According to this article in The Star, you should give yourself a cooling off period after a big jackpot win. Most lottery winners spend their winnings much faster than expected. All the excitement following a win leads to unwise, spontaneous spending. Larry Moser of BMO’s Investor Line also cautions about the pitfalls of publicity in the article in The Star, stating that:

“‘All sorts of people are going to come out of the woodwork. I’ve even heard of people getting blackmailed,” says Moser. ‘You need to be prepared for how you’ll handle various situations.’”

If you haven’t contacted Jackpot Lawyer to help you stay anonymous when claiming your prize, you’ll need a game plan for unwanted solicitations. Unfortunately, this often includes friends and family. You’ll want to decide how to set boundaries so your winnings don’t affect your personal relationships negatively.

For more information and advice for lottery winners in Canada, stay tuned to the Jackpot Lawyer blog.

 

Author: Danielle Mohr

Danielle is a professional copywriter and editor who provides services to Jackpot Lawyer on a contract basis. She has a broad range of experience in business marketing and is highly motivated to help businesses generate leads, increase sales, and promote growth.

Danielle has worked on websites, corporate blogs, and manuals for professionals, trades, government-funded organizations, and international corporations. Her work is driven by a strong passion for continued learning and she enjoys the challenge that comes with forging connections in the digital realm.

Danielle is the owner of Fine Point Writing & Editing based in Edmonton, Alberta.


15 comments on “Advice for Lottery Winners in Canada


  1. Steve says:

    How exactly do you protect anonymity when:

    “In Canada, however, lottery winners are required by law to share their identity no matter which lottery they’ve won”??

    1. Gregory Pang says:

      Hi Steve. The claimant of a large lottery win him/herself must reveal their identity. Currently though, nothing prevents the “real” winner from establishing a trust instrument whereby another person as a trustee could claim on behalf of the winner. So the trustee would be the formal claimant and currently nothing prevents non-disclosure of the beneficiary of such a trust. That’s our starting point for one way to maintain anonymity.

      1. Scott says:

        This is just not true. Currently in the US you can set up a trust to collect a lottery prize but this is absolutely false of the Canadian Lottery and has been tried before in B.C.

        As quoted in this news article “ In June, after consulting with the Inter-Provincial Lottery Corp., the national organization that oversees Lotto Max across Canada, BCLC told the lawyer only an individual or group, and not a trust or corporation, could claim a prize and the winners must go public, according to BCLC and ILC rules and regulations.”

        http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/mysterious-b-c-jackpot-winner-finally-comes-forward-to-claim-50m-after-months-of-trying-to-remain-anonymous/amp

        1. Gregory Pang says:

          That sentence in that article is somewhat misleading. It’s true that a “trust or a corporation” (which is some kind of entity and not an individual) cannot claim a lottery prize anywhere in Canada. But it’s not technically correct that a “group” in itself can claim a lottery prize. In a group situation, there must be one individual who claims the prize under his/her own name acting as a trustee for the rest of group who are the beneficiaries. The “group” as a whole is published as the winner but that individual is the formal claimant. That individual him/herself is not a “trust” but rather a trustee again claiming under his or her own name. Therefore an individual trustee, not some trust entity, can claim a prize in Canada. I am not saying and I never said that a trust itself as an entity can claim a prize in Canada.

          1. Harry says:

            Hey, I wanted to ask about what do you guys charge for the help, like a specific fee or percentage? Also, so you say that getting a trustee to claim it on our behalf would help us, would the trustee be one our known family member or one one of your team members, and would the beneficiary get all the money after the trust claims the money (like is the trust terminated) or does the trust continue to manage the money under the trustee for longer period of time on behalf of the beneficiary?

      2. Abdulle says:

        Thanks Brother call me please

  2. Larry says:

    How do you set up such a trust for lottery winnings. Can it be done online like registering business name?

    1. Gregory Pang says:

      No, you should retain the services of a lawyer to assist you with that.

  3. Stephanie says:

    Before having a lottery ticket checked by a cashier, it is compulsory to sign it. The cashier will not take it otherwise. Would this action (signing the ticket) have any consequence for the owner of the ticket on hiring a lawyer to stay anonymous should it turn out to be a winning ticket?

    1. Gregory Pang says:

      Yes, that would be a challenge. Possible to deal with? Maybe, but it would be an issue.

  4. Zak says:

    Have you helped anyone in the past to stay anonymous after the windfall ? Lotto corporations across canada just don’t allow anonymity. What are the steps taken to conceal winner identities ?

    1. Gregory Pang says:

      You’re right, as a general rule an individual her/himself cannot claim a lottery prize anonymously in Canada. Except under extraordinary circumstances, claimants of all large lottery wins must have their identities published. We are not saying that we can get around that rule. However, there may be a way, depending on the circumstances, for an individual to claim a prize for an undisclosed beneficiary. The claimant would be the formal “winner” and needs to have their identity revealed, of course. A lot of factors have to line up for this to work successfully. Please feel free to contact us by email or book a chat if you would like to discuss further.

  5. Ritika Thakur says:

    After winnig the lottry . I Want to hide my identity from public.
    Is this possible???

  6. Harry says:

    How do you Charge and when you said that you can achieve anonymity by getting a trustee, did you one of our family members act as a trustee or one of your team members? Also if all goes well would you be able to later close the trust or would the money would have to be managed under the trust forever in order to keep anonymity?

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