A lawsuit accusing Lottery.com and the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) of being involved in a conspiracy to defraud lottery customers has been dropped by the plaintiffs.
The development comes against the backdrop of extensive legal drama in Texas which seems to be leading to the likely dissolution of the TLC by the state government.
Filed on 14 February 2025, the lawsuit accused Lottery.com, a prominent lottery courier and digital lottery services app, the TLC and its then-Executive Director, Gary Grief, and the lottery’s tech partner IGT, of engaging in what it called ‘systemic fraud’.
This alleged fraud consisted of, as stated in the suit, “misappropriating lottery funds, illegally selling tickets across state lines, and manipulating the outcome of lottery games, including but not limited to the April 22, 2023, Lotto Texas drawing”.
This drawing in question was a now infamous incident in April 2023 in which a group of individuals purchased 99% of the roughly 26 million possible combinations in that month’s jackpot draw.
The scheme saw the perpetrators spend $25m to win a $95m jackpot – and the subsequent publicity the case generated has led to extensive questioning of the Texas Lottery, the TLC, its leadership, the role of lottery couriers, and the wider integrity of lotteries in Texas as a whole.
The suit cited multiple plaintiffs, with the lead being Dawn Nettles, a Texas resident, who collectively accused the defendants of ‘defrauding’ Texans. Lottery.com was specifically accused of having been ‘engaged in business in Texas, specifically to launder stolen lottery funds from the State of Texas’.
All guns blazing on Texas lottery
In the four months since the suit was filed, there has been a huge amount happening in Texas.
Not long after the filing, another incident occurred which led to even more controversy – a woman purchased a winning lottery ticket for a $83.5m jackpot from a retailer in Austin via Jackpocket, another courier, but concerns were raised when it was revealed that the retailer was owned by Jackpocket’s parent group, DraftKings.
This, coupled with speculation around the April 2023 incident, led to the TLC deciding to ban couriers. The firms responded tooth and nail, campaigning via the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers (CTLC) group while Lotto.com would file its own suit against the TLC.
It now appears that the TLC’s days are numbered, with a bill to abolish the regulator and transfer lottery oversight to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation progressing through both the Senate and House of Representatives, now awaiting the signature of Governor Greg Abbott.
Amidst all this, the defendants of the February lawsuit have decided to drop their litigation, perhaps satisfied with where the legislative direction is going. Lottery.com has actually stated that it had the chance to engage with the plaintiffs during its discussions with Texas lawmakers.
Gregory Potts, the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Nettles earlier this year when I appeared before the Texas Senate Finance committee. She is a long-time advocate for the fair and transparent operation of Texas lottery games, a belief shared by our company, Lottery.com.
“We believe the decision to seek a voluntary dismissal speaks to the lack of any evidence that Lottery.com was engaged in any wrongdoing. We have fully cooperated with all investigations into the April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing, and to my knowledge, there has been no finding against the Company of any of the activities claimed in this lawsuit.”
All is not yet quiet on the Texas legal front, however. A lawsuit filed by the woman who purchased the $83.5m ticket earlier this year is pursuing her own litigation against the TLC, perhaps hoping to claim the prize before the regulator is abolished – something that would kick the can of settling her claim further down the road.