Lottery publicity is not something that is discussed a great deal, but since winners are almost always given a choice as to whether or not they would like details of their win to be publicised, it makes sense to consider publicity in advance.

There are two common schools of thought in regards to publicity. One says that publicity is a bad thing because it will result in the lottery winner being overwhelmed with a deluge of requests for money and generosity. People who hold this opinion will normally suggest refusing publicity in the hope of keeping the lottery win a secret. The other school of thought says that even if one tried to keep a lottery win secret, news of the win would eventually leak out via talkative friends or family members, and so opting for publicity from the outset gets the public attention over and done with right at the beginning.

Whilst lottery players are of course free to make their own minds up on this matter, it is worth bearing the following notes about lottery publicity in mind before doing so:

• When you opt for privacy, all you are doing is asking the lottery operator to refrain from communicating your name or details of your personal life, such as the job you do. It is still possible that an investigative journalist could find out who you are, or that a jealous neighbour could call the local newspaper. Requesting “no publicity” from the lottery company does not therefore guarantee that you won’t get publicity in reality.

• Lottery publicity doesn’t usually last a long time, unless you have won a record-breaking jackpot. It is therefore possible to opt for publicity and then disappear from the public eye after your fifteen minutes of fame have expired – usually when the next big lottery winner goes public.

• If you don’t opt for publicity, you will need to come up with a non-lottery explanation for how you are suddenly able to buy a brand new home, drive a top-of-the-range car, take several luxury holidays a year and generally live like a king. Or, if you can’t do that, you will have to consider forgoing such luxuries for a quiet life.

Should you win a major lottery prize, it will be helpful to have at least thought about publicity before you are asked whether or not you want it. The good news is that there is no right or wrong answer, so as long as you are happy with your decision you have confidence in and stick with it.