Texas Lottery Commission One Step Closer To Being Put Out To Pasture

Remember the Texas Lottery Commission!

As far as rallying cries go for the state of Texas, the above almost certainly won’t replace “Remember the Alamo,” but the lottery commission is getting closer to being added to the list of things that belong to the past. A bill to shutter the agency and move all the Texas Lottery functions to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has passed the House and, according to a KLTV report, is close to being made law.

The bill, written by state Sen. Bob Hall, comes after Hall first attempted to remove lottery play from Texas completely.

Instead, this bill keeps the Texas Lottery alive, but limits retailers to five lottery ticket machines each, and bans online sales of lottery tickets.

This development follows a turbulent period spanning two years for the Texas Lottery, marked by two controversial lottery victories that drew scrutiny from state lawmakers.

Mo’ money mo’ problems

The initial incident occurred in 2023, when the investment firm Rook TX bought every conceivable number combination for a $95 million prize, allegedly receiving special arrangements from the Texas Lottery Commission to facilitate ticket production.

In a more recent case, a woman whose $83.5 million winning ticket was purchased via the Jackpocket app had her winnings suspended after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick initiated an investigation, even though there was no indication the winner had engaged in any wrongdoing.

“The problems we’ve had are not a result of some very smart people from outside the government figuring out how to beat the system. What we had here was the criminal activities taking place came from within the commission itself,” Hall said, claiming the rules created by the Texas Lottery Commission were in violation of state law.

Last week, the woman who won the $83.5 million sued the state in an attempt to gather her winnings.

“[I]f you win, you should get paid,” the complaint reads. “When you win, the Lottery should pay you — not stall, not waffle, not hem, not haw, not try and change the rules and not try to back out of the deal. Lotteries with integrity pay the winners. Responsible lotteries pay the winners. Anything short of that destroys the integrity of the lottery and shatters the confidence of those who play it. It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get paid when you win the lottery. But that’s exactly what has happened here.”

Failures of the commission

Meanwhile, as to his bill, Hall had strong words for the perceived failures of the Texas Lottery Commission.

“They wrote rules to specifically circumvent what the legislature had put into law, and they did that for the purpose of getting to where they could do bulk buys, which were not legal, and structure it so they could pick a winner,” Hall said, according to KLTV. “I’m just told that we have to have the money to balance the budget, therefore we cannot eliminate the lottery. So, the next best thing is to move it to an entirely new organization, require the rules be moved back to what was originally intended by the legislature.”

Hall said he will take a look at ditching the lottery completely when the Texas legislature meets again in two years.

As for the commission itself? The people there seem resigned to their fate, according a statement sent to KLTV by Texas Lottery Commission Media Relations Division Director Steve Helm.

“Ensuring the integrity, security, honesty and fairness of the agency and its games is the top priority for the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC),” the statement read. “The TLC respects the legislative process, serves as a resource to the Legislature, and will follow the direction of the Legislature. Regarding your reference to SB 3070, the TLC is prepared to fully support the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation with ensuring that a smooth, seamless and successful transition occurs for both the administration of the lottery and the regulation of charitable bingo.”

The legislative session ends June 2.