IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa-based nonprofit governed by dozens of state lotteries says it is a “private entity” and not subject to the open records law. The Multi-State Lottery Association said Tuesday that a legal review has determined it does not have to disclose its recent settlement of a lawsuit that sought millions of dollars in damages. The group helps run the Powerball game and others.

The Associated Press requested a copy of the association’s agreement with Larry Dawson, an Iowa man who won a $9 million Hot Lotto jackpot in 2011. Settlements involving government bodies are public records in Iowa. But lottery association general counsel Patricia Lantz says the group “has operated as a private entity” since the 1980s. She says it provides the public information when possible but that the settlement agreement is confidential.

Dawson’s lawsuit contended that his jackpot would have been $16.5 million bigger if the association’s information security director, Eddie Tipton, hadn’t rigged the previous prize. Tipton is serving prison time for rigging several jackpots worth millions of dollars dating back to 2005.