Texas Moves to Dismantle Lottery Commission Over ‘Rigged’ Jackpot Fiasco

May 20, 2025

On Friday, the Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill that would eliminate the troubled state lottery commission. 

Senate Bill 3070 proposes to shift the management of the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation during a two-year transition period. Following that timeframe, legislators will determine if they should abolish the lottery completely. 

Political Storm of Controversy 

In recent months, the Texas Lottery Commission has become the focus of a political controversy. The agency faces allegations of engaging with online lottery couriers without legislative approval. In April 2023, this allowed a European betting syndicate to purchase 25.8 million tickets at one dollar each — sufficient to encompass nearly all possible winning combinations. 

This indicated that the syndicate was virtually assured of winning or, at the very least, splitting the $95 million jackpot, along with securing millions in additional prizes.

"This is about restoring integrity and fairness to the game,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presided over the vote. “And that’s what we did today.”

Patrick has previously called the jackpot fiasco “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas.”

The legislation would prohibit lottery courier services, mandate in-person ticket sales, and cap purchases at 100 tickets for each transaction. 

How Can You Purchase 25.8 Million Tickets? 

Lottery couriers enable players to purchase tickets in large quantities online. Online gambling is prohibited in Texas, but couriers assert they aren’t violating the law since they don’t provide gambling services. Rather, they simply provide a logistical service by buying tickets for customers from authorized state-operated lottery sellers. 

The syndicate engaged three courier firms to operate continuously, handling the 25.8 million tickets required to execute the scheme. Typically, 1 to 2 million tickets are purchased for a weekly Texas Lottery draw. 

These couriers had to significantly increase their activities ahead of the contentious jackpot draw. The lottery commission, focused solely on ticket sales, was eager to assist, providing the couriers with extra equipment they required, even though the strange request should have raised concerns. 

In February, the Texas Lottery Commission announced it would prohibit couriers, and it formally voted on this in late April. 

However, it might be insufficient and occur too late for the commission. Senate Bill 3070 is now on its way to the House.