Lottery couriers have now been found in violation of regulation by the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC), the culmination of months of debate and finger pointing in the state.
The widely-anticipated vote on new regulations regarding couriers took place during the TLC’s meeting on 29 April. The legality of lottery couriers in Texas has been an ongoing dispute since the providers first set foot in the state back in 2016.
An incident in 2023 proved to be a major tipping point, where a group of wealthy individuals spent a total of $23m on a bulk purchase of all potential lottery ticket combinations, which bagged them the winning jackpot of $95m.
Though it cannot be said for certain whether the buyout was carried out via couriers, the incident prompted extensive debate on the integrity of the lottery in Texas. The last drop in the bucket fell at the start of this year, when a jackpot winning ticket was bought again through a lottery courier, from a retail shop that the courier owned.
This sparked a series of investigations into the matter, first and foremost by the TLC itself. However, the Commission was also placed under two significant investigations, which are currently still ongoing.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott commissioned a probe by the state’s Department of Public Safety into TLC’s dealings with lottery couriers since 2016, In addition, Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, placed the Commission under the microscope to uncover any potential federal law breaches regarding the two incidents mentioned above.
The fallout was imminent. Ryan Mindell, the former TLC Executive Director, handed over his notice with immediate effect, despite being avidly outspoken against couriers in his most recent public statements. He was the first to adopt TLC’s anti-courier policies, which led to the latest ban.
However, a recent legal petition against TLC filed by lottery courier Lotto.com alleges that Mindell has given repeated assurances that the company is operating in Texas within the remit of local regulations.
Lotto.com is now requesting the Travis Country Court to review and subsequently overturn the TLC’s decision based on the evidence of communication it has provided.
Route 66
Lottery couriers in the state maintain that they have been fully committed to player safety and competition laws within Texas, despite the fact that no official framework to regulate them currently exist in the Lone Star State.
In the wake of Mindell’s resignation, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers (CTLC) expressed hopes that his absence will spark a constructive dialogue with the TLC for the development of such a regulatory framework.
However, now that the ban has been put in place by the TLC – threatening to revoke the lottery licence of any retailer that deals with couriers – companies like Lotto.com and rival competitor Jackpocket are essentially being forced to pack their bindle and head on Route 66 out of Texas. That is unless legal challenges like the one mentioned earlier prove to be successful.
In response to the ban, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers said: “Lottery couriers legally operated for years with the cooperation and assistance of the TLC.
“Although the agency repeatedly testified that it had no regulatory authority over couriers, in response to political pressure, the TLC chose to abruptly change course and eliminate businesses, jobs, state revenue and a service millions of Texans use to order lottery tickets.”