Texas Lottery Commission announces policy changes amid growing controversy
The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) has announced that it will now prohibit the sale of lottery tickets to courier services. The announcement comes amid growing scrutiny, the resignation of the Texas Lottery commissioner, and new investigations into two controversial lottery wins.
What is a lottery courier service?Online lottery couriers are simply third-party companies that sell lottery tickets. Purchases from couriers are made online through an app or website.
Customers then receive a scanned copy of the ticket, rather than a physical copy, as proof of purchase, and the courier holds on to the physical copy until it has been deemed to be a winning or non-winning ticket. Couriers make their money by charging a fee for purchasing and managing tickets.
Currently, couriers operate in 24 states across the US, but they are only regulated in New York, New Jersey, and Arkansas.
Intense scrutinyThe TLC has faced intense scrutiny, including several hours of long testimonies at a Senate Finance Committee in February. Just over a week after the hearing, TLC Commissioner Clark Smith resigned from his position.
The announcement to ban courier services, made by Executive Director of the TLC Ryan Mindel, marks a major policy shift, which has maintained since 2016 that it lacks the authority to regulate them. In a meeting earlier this month, TLC reiterated that they lacked the legal precedent to ban couriers but had corrected certain issues.
So the announcement they were now banning couriers was somewhat unexpected and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was unimpressed by the Commission’s announcement, stating, “I’ve never read so much garbage from a state agency press release in my 18 years in office.”
He further criticized the commission, saying, “Today’s action is an obvious admission that the Texas Lottery Commission had the oversight authority all along and allowed these businesses to creep into Texas and undermine the integrity of the Texas Lottery.”
I've never read so much garbage from a state agency press release in my 18 years in office. After years of claiming they had no authority to regulate lottery couriers, today the Texas Lottery Commission suddenly exercised the ultimate regulatory authority by banning all lottery… https://t.co/ljn456sMBR
Widespread controversy and frustration over lottery courier services and the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) stem from two suspicious jackpot wins. The most recent was an $83.5 million jackpot won in February, with the winning ticket purchased through a courier service from Winners Corner TX LLC in Austin.
The other was a $95 million jackpot, won by a purchasing group that spent millions on tickets, covering nearly every possible number combination.
In response, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he had directed the Texas Rangers to investigate both wins. Additionally, on Wednesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a separate investigation into the Texas Lottery.
In a statement, Paxton said he was “deeply concerned” about the integrity of the state lottery and vowed to hold anyone involved in illegal lottery activities accountable.
One of the key measures the TLC has implemented to combat courier services and maintain the integrity of the lottery is limiting the number of lottery terminals a retailer is permitted to five. Any retailer currently exceeding this limit will be required to comply with the new restrictions. Additionally, retailers found collaborating with courier services will have their licenses revoked.
Beyond the TLC’s actions, the state Senate is also considering legislation that would make the online sale of lottery tickets a criminal offense. This move aims to further tighten regulations and prevent unauthorized lottery sales. On March 4th, the commission is set to formally propose new rules on the ban during an emergency meeting.
While the Texas laws around courier services are a bit unclear at present, and any laws are likely to target courier services rather than those that buy tickets from them, it’s best to stay away from using them for now and take a trip to a local retailer to buy your ticket in person
Mixed reactionsWhile many lawmakers support the ban on courier services in Texas, there is also opposition. Rep. John Bucy III strongly criticized the Texas Lottery Commission’s policy change, calling it “garbage” and “unacceptable.”
In response, Bucy filed House Bill 3201 on Friday, proposing a system to regulate and license courier services rather than banning them outright. In a statement to news outlets, he emphasized the $2 billion the lottery contributed to schools in 2024 and warned that eliminating courier services could significantly reduce funding for education and other public programs.
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