Three months after the numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers in a drawing, a lady in Texas is suing the state’s lottery commission for allegedly denying her a $83.5 million jackpot.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on May 19, the woman from Montgomery County who went by Jane Doe used the courier service Jackpocket to purchase a lottery ticket for the “Lotto Texas” game on the evening of February 17.
Texans can purchase lottery tickets online from approved merchants on their behalf thanks to the third-party service. In Texas, lottery ticket courier services are not subject to any regulations.
They work by collecting lottery ticket orders from players online or over the phone, purchasing the agreed-upon tickets from authorized lottery vendors, and collecting fees for ticket management and purchase.
According to Doe’s lawsuit, Winners Corner, a licensed lottery shop in Austin, obtained her winning ticket on her behalf. According to the lawsuit, the numbers on her ticket were selected for the $83.5 million jackpot the night she bought it.
A week later, the Texas Lottery declared that it would “effective immediately” outlaw unregulated lottery ticket courier services.
Additionally, Governor Greg Abbott declared that the state would look into the victory.
According to the statement, former Executive Director Ryan Mindell stated, “the proliferation of couriers in the state has raised serious concerns that the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of lottery games are being undermined by the continued activity of courier services.”
Sergio Rey, who is listed in the case, is now the acting executive director after Mindell left in April due to ongoing investigations.
Only three states govern courier services: New York, New Jersey, and Arkansas, according to a Texas House report from November.
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According to the lawsuit, the commission is “not allowed to change the rules after the drawing” and is attempting to impose a retroactive ban in order to deny Doe her winnings.
Doe claims that on March 18, she showed her ticket to the Lottery Commission and was not informed that it was in any manner invalid.
“The claim is being reviewed under the Commission’s claim validation requirements and is the subject of external investigation,” a spokesperson for the commission stated. “The agency does not have additional information to provide, as it does not comment on pending litigation and investigations.”
