Lotto.com Sues Texas Lottery Over Courier Ban

• Lotto.com alleges Texas Lottery encouraged couriers in lawsuit
• Courier services under fire after massive jackpot win
• Texas Lottery Commission faces legal and political pressure
  

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Lottery courier Lotto.com is suing the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) in a bid to block the agency from banning its services in the state.

The lawsuit claims that the TLC “actively assisted in the setup and operation of Lotto.com and other couriers in Texas” before performing an “about-face” and prohibiting the industry under political pressure. On the same day, dozens of lottery terminals were seized from couriers, according to the lawsuit.

The commission’s previous official position was that it did not have the power to regulate courier services and therefore lacked the authority to ban them.

‘Rigged’ Jackpot

Lottery couriers allow players to choose their numbers and buy tickets via an app. The courier will fulfill the order by purchasing tickets through a licensed brick-and-mortar lottery retailer.

But their presence in Texas is controversial after several couriers helped a European syndicate to win a $95 million jackpot in April 2023.

Texas law prohibits the sale of lottery tickets by telephone and online gambling is illegal. But lottery couriers claim a legal loophole because they merely provide a delivery service for lottery tickets.

After receiving a grilling from the state Senate Finance Committee in February, TLC indicated it would move to ban the courier industry and suspend the licenses of vendors that worked with it.

‘Not Inconsistent’ With Law

But in a meeting between then-Lottery Operations Director Ryan Mindell [later TLC chief executive] and Lotto.com CEO Tom Metzger in February 2021, Mindell “informed Lotto.com of exactly what steps it needed to take to get certification from the Texas Lottery that its business model was not inconsistent with Texas law,” Lotto.com claimed in its lawsuit.

From then on, TLC assisted and cooperated with Lotto.com and other couriers, according to the filing. This included working on the development of Lotto.com’s digital scratch product, which was launched in 2023.

“Now, over two years later, the Lottery is attempting to rewrite the history of its involvement,” claims the lawsuit.

Mindell resigned from his position as TLC executive director on Monday.