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Read Full BioThe Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) is facing a lawsuit after being accused of failing to pay a woman the $83.5 million jackpot she won in February.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, who identifies herself as Jane Doe, purchased a lottery ticket on February 17 for the “Lotto Texas” game through the lottery courier service Jackpocket.
Lottery couriers, such as Jackpocket, allow users to place orders for tickets through their app, after which they purchase the physical ticket on the user’s behalf.
If the ticket is a winner, the app pays winnings directly under $600, while for bigger prizes, it delivers the physical ticket to the user. Then, they must claim the award in person.
Doe Claims TLC Is Illegally Withholding Her Winnings
The plaintiff claims that Jackpocket bought the ticket on her behalf from the Winners Corner, a licensed lottery retailer in Austin. That night, she won the $83.5 million jackpot.
However, a week later, the TLC announced that it would ban lottery couriers, which are unregulated in Texas. The move was made official about two months later, when the commission voted unanimously to ban the couriers.
According to the lawsuit, the commission is “not allowed to change the rules after the drawing”. It claims that it’s trying to refuse to pay Doe’s winning through a retroactive ban.
Doe says she presented her ticket to the TLC on March 18. At the time, the commission did not claim it was invalid in any way.
Lottery Couriers Under Scrutiny in Texas
Jane Doe’s jackpot, which was the fifth-highest in the state’s history, made headlines in February.
Soon after it was revealed that the winning ticket was bought through Jackpocket, a subsidiary of DraftKings, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into the matter.
Investigations later revealed a scheme involving lottery couriers, which led to the winning of a $95 million jackpot in 2023.
In the 2023 case, a secret syndicate led by a British former banker and a Tasmanian gambler purchased 26 million tickets at $1.
As a result, the syndicate bought almost all possible combinations. The syndicate was able to purchase that many tickets by using a lottery courier.
The news shook Texas, and authorities launched an investigation into TLC’s integrity. The growing security led to the resignation of the commission’s Executive Director, Ryan Mindell, in April.
Texas Lottery Commission on the Brink of Abolition
While Jane Doe’s $83.5 million jackpot caused uproar, the unveiling of the $95 million jackpot scheme has led to calls for the abolishment of TLC after questions over its integrity.
Senate Bill 3070, which seeks to abolish the commission and establish strict rules regarding ticket purchasing, passed the House on May 26, following its passage in the Senate on May 15. It now awaits the governor’s signature.
Under the bill’s provisions, oversight of the lottery will transfer to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Other key provisions include:
- Ban on online ticket sales.
- Limit of 100 tickets in a single transaction.
- The lottery will be subject to a review by the Sunset Advisory Commission before August 31, 2027. If the commission does not authorize it, it will abolish the lottery.
- Individuals with felony convictions or offenses are ineligible for employment related to lottery operations.
- Establishment of a Lottery Advisory Committee to provide external expertise and recommendations on lottery operations.
It’s unknown what will happen to Jane Doe’s lawsuit if the Texas Lottery Commission ceases to exist.
