The Texas Lottery Commission is under fire after the sale of an $83.5 million winning ticket at a store in Austin, as multiple lawmakers call for sweeping changes to how lotto tickets are sold throughout the state.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick expressed concerns after visiting the Winners Corner store in North Austin, the location that sold the recent winning Lotto ticket.
𝐈𝐂𝐘𝐌𝐈: Recently, there have been many questions raised about the integrity of the Texas Lottery. On Monday night, an $83 million winning ticket was sold in Austin. Turns out, the retail establishment that sold the winning ticket in the front of the store was owned by the… pic.twitter.com/D62kVnZMw4
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) February 19, 2025
Patrick further spoke on the relationship between Winners Corner and JackPocket, both of which are associated with major gaming company DraftKings. He warned that these affiliations could erode public trust in the Texas Lottery system and potentially hold some serious conflicts of interest.
“Do you not see an issue where the public might lose confidence if the courier service somehow happened at this one location in the entire state of Texas sold an $83 million winning ticket, and they also own the location that printed the ticket?” Patrick asked a Winners Corner employee in the video.
The Lt. Governor also raised alarms about the sheer number of lottery terminals inside the Winners Corner building.
“Many many more terminals than you would ever see in the normal place that you buy lottery tickets. So there are a lot of questions,” he added.
This incident follows a 2023 controversy: a $95 million winning Lotto Texas ticket was sold to a European syndicate through a similar “courier” system. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt has since raised concerns, suggesting a “99% probability of money laundering” involved with that ticket purchase, reported Audacy.
Despite the Texas Senate passing legislation last year to end the use of couriers to sell lottery tickets online, the bill stalled in the State House.
However, earlier this month, State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Collin County) and State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Rockwall) introduced identical bills to ban the sale of Texas Lottery tickets through apps or online. If approved, the ban would take effect in September of this year. The bill, SB 28, has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee and will be heard in a public hearing on Monday, February 24.
The Texas Lottery Commission has faced mounting criticism over the years for various issues and has yet to formally respond to Patrick’s statements. However, the public outcry, coupled with concerns from Texas lawmakers, has put the future of online lottery ticket sales and couriers in Texas squarely in the spotlight.