Texas Moves to Dismantle Lottery Commission Over ‘Rigged’ Jackpot Fiasco

Posted on: May 20, 2025, 10:25h. 

Last updated on: May 20, 2025, 10:37h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Texas Senate votes to scrap scandal-plagued Lottery Commission
  • New bill would impose bans on couriers, bulk purchases
  • Bill heads to House next

The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill Friday that would scrap the state’s beleaguered lottery commission.

Texas Lottery Commission, Senate Bill 3070, Dan Patrick, Lottery courier services
Some lawmakers want to Texas Twostep on the grave of the state lottery commission — and a new Senate bill just brought them a step closer. (Image: Texas Lottery)

Senate Bill 3070 would transfer oversight of the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation over a two-year transition period. After that period, lawmakers will decide whether to end the lottery entirely.

Political Firestorm

The Texas Lottery Commission has found itself at the center of a political firestorm in recent months. The agency has been accused of courting online lottery couriers without authorization from the legislature. In April 2023, this enabled a European gambling syndicate to buy 25.8 million tickets at a dollar each — enough to cover almost all possible winning combinations.

That meant the syndicate was all but guaranteed to win or, at a minimum, share the $95 million jackpot, while scooping millions in secondary prizes.

This is about restoring integrity and fairness to the game,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presided over the vote. “And that’s what we did today.”

Patrick has previously called the jackpot fiasco “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas.”

The bill would also ban lottery courier services, require in-person ticket sales, and limit purchases to 100 tickets per transaction.

How Do You Buy 25.8M Tickets?

Lottery couriers allow players to buy tickets online in bulk. Online gambling is illegal in Texas but couriers claim they don’t break the law because they don’t offer gambling. Instead, they merely offer a logistical service, purchasing tickets on behalf of customers from official state-run lottery retailers.

The syndicate hired three courier companies to work around the clock, processing the 25.8 million tickets they needed to pull off the scheme. Around 1 to 2 million tickets are sold for a typical weekly Texas Lottery draw.

These couriers needed to dramatically ramp up their operations in the leadup to the controversial jackpot draw. The lottery commission, thinking only of ticket sales, was only too happy to help, supplying the couriers with additional equipment they needed, despite the unusual request that should have set off alarm bells

Belatedly, the Texas Lottery Commission in February announced it would ban couriers, and it voted to do so officially in late April.

But it may be too little, too late for the commission. Senate Bill 3070 now heads to the House.