Texas Lottery Winner Sues for $83.5 Million Jackpot Frozen in Courier Scandal

• A woman is suing Texas for being denied an $83.5M jackpot
• The jackpot was frozen amid the Texas lottery courier scandal fallout
• Officials investigating syndicate’s 25.8M-ticket scheme
  

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A woman who won an $83.5 million Texas Lottery jackpot but has been denied her prize, has filed a lawsuit demanding payment.

The unnamed plaintiff had the misfortune to purchase her winning lottery ticket through a courier service in mid-February, just as a political backlash against the industry started to mount.

The woman’s winnings were frozen after the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Rangers launched investigations into her jackpot and others.

Syndicate Scheme

These investigations were sparked by the revelation that a European betting syndicate had gamed the system by buying up 25.8 million tickets for the April 22, 2023 draw — enough to cover all possible winning combinations.

The syndicate used the bulk-buying capabilities of lottery couriers to ensure it had covered every base, enabling it to scoop the jackpot and millions in secondary prizes.

While the woman used the lottery courier system to buy her ticket online, she wasn’t part of a ticket-buying consortium or a bulk ticket-purchasing scheme, according to her lawyer, Randy Howry.

While couriers have since been banned in Texas, at the time of her purchase, they were considered a legitimate way to buy tickets by the lottery commission. The courier she used, Jackpocket.com, purchased her ticket from a legally licensed vendor.

 It was the thrill of victory and then the agony of defeat,” Howry told The Dallas Morning News. “She’s been caught up in a situation where she thought her life had changed. Now it’s been jerked out from under her, and no one’s given her a reason why.”

Howry added that if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) wants to protect the integrity of the lottery, as he claims, he should “tell my client why you haven’t paid her.”

“If the Texas lottery is going to allow people to play by their rules and then they won’t pay, at the end of the day what integrity does the Texas lottery have?” Howry asked.

Lottery Commissioner Steve Helm told the Morning News that the woman’s lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Travis County District Court, is being reviewed by the agency and confirmed her claim was the subject of “external investigation.”

Curtains for Lottery Commission?

The syndicate is believed to be linked to the founders of British sportsbook Colossus Bets. The shadowy group claimed the $95 million prize anonymously via a shell company, Rook TX, which had been recently incorporated in Delaware for that purpose.

Separate bills recently passed in the state House and Senate propose dissolving the Texas Lottery Commission. One of the measures also calls for a comprehensive review of the lottery itself, which could ultimately lead to its termination.