The Texas Lottery on Borrowed Time with 4-Year Reprieve

The Texas Lottery Commission has been in hot water with legislators since mid-February when a local woman won an $80-million lottery jackpot.

This should not normally galvanize such a strong opposition against the lottery, but in this case, the winning ticket was bought through a courier service, which has been outlawed in the latest bill, along with any similar apps and companies.

Texas Lottery Is Down but Not Out – Yet

Lawmakers took issue with the way the winning ticket was bought, still smarting from a recent case involving an international betting syndicate that used lottery couriers to purchase nearly every possible variation for a $95-million draw, which the syndicate then won.

They were operating out of Europe, which further infuriated lawmakers. The recent win, although completely legitimate, and won by a woman from the state (who is now suing for her withheld winnings) has dug up painful memories.

A bill sought (and succeeded) to kill the Texas Lottery regulator altogether, with lawmakers convinced that there was no making up for any of the ills that the watchdog had caused locally. Instead, though, the regulator will now have four more years of operations (at least), as the Texas Senate approved House amendments made to SB 3070, which buys the lottery some time.

Gov. Greg Abbott will be duly signing the bill, and he is himself an opponent of courier services, and what has happened to the lottery as a whole. In the meantime, SB 3070 will not only put a countdown to the lottery’s shuttering of existing operations under the regulator but also limit how many tickets can be bought all at once.

Tighter Rule as Time Is Running Out

The bill makes it mandatory for people to purchase tickets in person. A single transaction may not result in the purchase of more than 100 tickets, and high-ranking state officials will have the legal remit to intervene and look into various transactions, from the AG’s office, to senators, to the governor himself.

Killing the lottery regulatory abruptly could expose the Lone Star State to unexpected budget deficits, as the lottery has been contributing about $2 billion annually to the state’s coffers, and a transition to the new regulator is not guaranteed to be smooth.