California Lottery Under Fire for Accidental Release of Winner’s Address, Sparking Privacy Concerns

The California Lottery recently acknowledged an error in which they accidentally disclosed the personal address of a $12 million lottery winner, attributing the blunder to an oversight.

The fortunate individual had purchased a SuperLotto Plus ticket from King Wine & Liquor located at 2346 Fruitridge Road in Sacramento last November, securing a $12 million prize.

However, the initial announcement mistakenly featured the winner’s home address instead of the location of the store where the ticket was bought.

The California Lottery expressed their apologies for the error, recognizing the potential privacy issues it could create for the winner.

They stated, “Ensuring player privacy and the accuracy of information are paramount for the California Lottery. This incident is unprecedented, and we are currently reviewing our procedures to prevent future occurrences. We sincerely apologize for the error and appreciate the public’s patience as we swiftly work to guarantee that all shared information is both accurate and secure.”

The organization informed KTLA that the email containing the erroneous address was distributed to approximately 800 media outlets.

The winner,  Raul Servellon de Leo, was identified last week in the email. His address was not meant to be shared in the correspondence meant to identify recent major lottery winners.

Under California law, winners must be identified by their full name. Their address is not mandated to be shared.

The California Post found that the winner lives in Sacramento.

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