AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Just four days after the Texas Lottery Commission changed its precedent by banning lottery couriers, the Texas Senate unanimously voted to criminalize them. If passed by the Texas House and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, acting as a courier for pay would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $4,000.
“Thank you for your dedication to this issue, so we clean up fraud in the lottery,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told the bill’s author State Sen. Bob Hall, R — Rockwall.
Hall felt the bill doesn’t go far enough.
“I strongly believe that the only legislative change that would have a meaningful impact in eliminating the organized crime syndicate embed in the Texas Government is legislation that completely and permanently abolishes the lottery commission,” he said.
How we got here
The heightened scrutiny on the Texas Lottery started during a Feb. 12 Sen ate Finance Committee hearing. Senators grilled the Texas Lottery Commission on a 2023 Lotto Texas drawing where one group was able to spend about $25 million to buy nearly every single number combination for a $95 million jackpot, partially with the help of at least one lottery courier service. They repeatedly questioned why the commissioners and Executive Director Ryan Mindell were not enforcing existing statutes that banned playing the lottery through telephone, or that banned buying a ticket for someone with a markup.
Mindell repeatedly said the Texas Lottery Commission did not have the authority to ban courier services, while lottery courier services argued they weren’t violating existing laws because the games were being played through an application, and their markup was comparable to a delivery fee.
Then interest grew again when a Feb. 16 Lotto Texas jackpot was won at a retailer called Winners Corner, owned by the app Jackpocket. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick visited the store the next day, highlighting the (already public) fact that the store was owned by the courier service Jackpocket, which had 47 lottery terminals on-site to help process mobile orders.
Then, on Monday, Abbott order the Texas Rangers to investigate the two controversial jackpot wins, before Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his own investigation on Wednesday.
The next steps
Despite testifying in front of the Senate State Affairs committee on Monday, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers (CTLC) could not convince a single senator to not criminalize their operation.
“Responsible lottery couriers exist to securely expand access to lottery games, ensuring the ability of the state to fulfill its promises to future recipients of lottery proceeds. Responsible lottery couriers are private businesses employing hundreds of employees across the nineteen U.S. lottery jurisdictions where they currently operate, and contributing tens of millions of dollars to the states that they serve,” the CTLC said in a statement. “We are disappointed that a pro-business state like Texas would consider shutting down companies that have for years followed the guidance and instruction of the Texas Lottery and honored the trust of millions of Texas customers.”
In its statement, the the CTLC highlighted a bill filed by State Rep. John Bucy III, D — Austin, to regulate couriers instead of banning them.
“Here in Texas I think adults should be able to make decisions for themselves,” Bucy said. “In modern times, courier services have 2,000,000 Texas users. This a convenient way, it’s a safe and secure way, and so I just want to add regulation to make sure everyone’s playing by the rules.”
With the Senate’s courier ban headed to the Texas House, Bucy hopes his colleagues will take their time.
“Just because Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate have acted, the Texas House is a deliberate body,” Bucy said. “We’re gonna work through this issue, we’re gonna be able to talk about it. I think everyone will slow down in the House instead of rushing it, and really look at the matter of ‘well, we use so much through our smartphones, why can’t we do this?'”
