The Texas Lottery Commission has moved to ban lottery couriers after discovering state law prohibits the service.
This is a significant deviation from the commission’s previous adamant claims that it had little to no control over third-party sales of lottery in the state. This comes just days after Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called for an investigation into relationships between the Texas Lottery, retail stores and couriers.
Texas Lottery Commission Reverses Stance, Moves to Ban Couriers
A lottery courier is a service that allows customers to purchase tickets without visiting a physical retailer. Given the absence of online legalization surrounding online lottery, this is a fairly unique proposition to the United States.
A customer places an order for their preferred lottery game and numbers through a platform or app. A courier company dispatches an agent to buy the actual ticket, which is then scanned and uploaded to the customer’s account for verification. The ticket is then stored securely. Winnings are typically credited directly to the customer’s account, but larger winnings may need to be collected in person.
Ryan Mindell, Executive Director of the Texas Lottery Commission, has asserted that the change in attitude comes after a comprehensive review of state law and information from “retailer investigations.” A formal proposal for the new rule will be made on 4 March 2025 at a board meeting.
He commented: “Lottery courier services operating in Texas have been a significant concern for many of our stakeholders. Since I became Executive Director less than a year ago, I have been keenly focused on making changes to improve the public’s perception of Texas Lottery games and how they are played and operated.”
“Today’s action is an obvious admission that the Texas Lottery Commission had the oversight authority all along and allowed these businesses to creep into Texas and undermine the integrity of the Texas Lottery,” Lt. Gov Patrick said in a post on X about the commission’s new guidelines.
He added: “They should never have allowed couriers into Texas and certainly should have woken up after SB 1820, but they ignored it, just as they have suspiciously left SB 1820 out of their statement.”
Lawmakers Clash Over Lottery Courier Regulation
The Senate debate was heated, with mixed opinions from several Representatives throughout. Rep. John Bucy III filed a bill to create a state licensing system for couriers, whereas Sen. Middleton and Sen. Hall were vehement in their criticism of lottery couriers.
Senator Bob Hall went as far as to request that the Lone Star State’s Governor, Greg Abbott, shut down the Texas Lottery Commission. He ended his speech with: “Texas is not open for gambling.”
The estimated economic impact of lottery couriers is approximately $173 million in lottery ticket sales. Jackpocket, which was acquired by DraftKings, made $550 million in sales in Texas over five years.
Some of the mounting criticisms of the lottery included a lack of transparency, something that blockchain-based products efficiently remedy.
Formerly, Jackpocket accepted BitPay to allow users to purchase lottery tickets through stablecoins. However, Texas state legislation strictly prohibits gambling, and as such, the potential for crypto lottery or crypto iGaming remains distant.
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