Taxes on the winnings

New York State has confiscated almost $20 million in lottery winnings over the past four years via a little-known clawback policy that targets winners on welfare.

In the United States, winners are required to pay taxes on sweepstakes prizes from real money casinos, which are treated as income for tax purposes. That means you'll be required to add the fair market value of your prize to your earnings from jobs and other sources when you report your income to the IRS.