Texas woman’s $83.5M lottery jackpot in jeopardy amid state investigation
A Texas woman who hit an $83.5 million jackpot back in February is now being told she might never see her winnings. The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) warned her about the issue as the Texas Rangers launched an investigation into the lottery drawing.
She bought her winning Lotto Texas ticket using Jackpocket, a DraftKings-owned courier service, but the actual ticket was purchased from a convenience store in Austin.
Speaking to local media outlet, Nexstar, she said: “I’m being treated as the bad guy.”
She used Jackpocket, an app that lets people buy lottery tickets and scratch-offs from their phone, to purchase $20 worth of Texas Lotto tickets for the February 17 drawing. The courier services work by buying tickets on behalf of customers for a service fee, making it easier to play without having to visit a store.
Texas crackdown on buying lottery tickets through courier servicesSome states allow people to buy lottery tickets through courier services, but in Texas, these apps have been a topic of contention among lawmakers. Many believe they’re actually illegal under state law and are frustrated that the commission allowed them to operate. The Texas Senate even passed a bill to ban them altogether.
After the February 17 jackpot win, the TLC doubled down on its stance, stating that these services aren’t permitted in Texas. They also proposed new rules that would strip lottery retailers of their licenses if they partner with couriers.
That same day, Governor Greg Abbott stepped in and ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate the woman’s $83.5 million jackpot, along with a previous $95 million win from 2023. In that case, a single group reportedly spent over $25 million on tickets, covering almost every possible combination. Investigators found that the group bought their tickets from four different retailers that worked with courier services.
Lawmakers raised eyebrows over such a huge ticket purchase, with some even hinting at possible money laundering. While the TLC did end up paying out the winnings, they later put rules in place to stop people from buying tickets in such massive quantities. Despite all the concerns, the TLC didn’t crack down on courier services at the time.
‘We played by all the rules’As for the woman who won in February, her attorney, Randy Howry, said the TLC’s legal team told him that no final decision would be made until the Texas Rangers finish their investigation.
Howry stated: “We played by all the rules, and we’re still playing by all the rules and we expect that my client should be paid.”
Unlike the 2023 case, where millions were spent on tickets, the woman who won in February only spent $20 using Jackpocket. She argues that her situation is completely different and that it’s unfair for her winnings to be withheld just because of the larger controversy surrounding lottery courier services.
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