Tony Bitonti says Olg limits winner names to initials

olg has started identifying lottery winners in public news releases with only first names and last initials. Tony Bitonti said the change took effect last week, and the agency will now write names such as “John S. of Toronto” instead of full names.

Bitonti said the policy responds to longtime complaints from winners about their identities being circulated online. He also said OLG has to balance privacy with its obligation as a government body to be transparent about payouts.

Tony Bitonti on privacy

Bitonti said, “We’ve been hearing from our winners for a while about the need to protect their privacy.” He added that the digital age has heightened privacy risks, which is part of why OLG changed how it writes winner releases.

The corporation has long publicized winners through news releases, photos and promotional materials. That practice continues in a narrower form now, with the public release showing only a first name and last initial instead of the full name.

OLG website list

OLG is still publishing full names on a list on its website. That list also includes prize amounts and the community and business establishment where the winning ticket was bought, so the shift in releases changes the headline-level exposure without ending public disclosure altogether.

For winners, the practical change is immediate: the name attached to a news release is now abbreviated, but the full identity still appears in the website list alongside payout details and the store location tied to the ticket. The new practice gives winners less visibility in the release itself while leaving the underlying record public.

Last week’s change

The shift began last week, according to Bitonti. Anyone checking OLG’s winner coverage now has to look at two different layers of disclosure: the shortened release and the full website list.