Lottery Delivery Workers in Texas Voice Opposition After Senate Endorses Prohibition
Published: February 28, 2025, 5:01 AMLast Updated: February 28, 2025, 5:01 AM
Philip Conneller
@casinoorgphilc
Philip Conneller@casinoorgphilc
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Enrichment Data: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming
Gaming Business, Regulation,
In the wake of a controversial $96 million jackpot win by an international syndicate, the Texas Senate recently proposed a bill that may outlaw lottery couriers within the state. However, an industry coalition is now calling for regulation, not prohibition, of the courier sector.
Tribal Gaming.
Trouble in the Texas Lottery
Public trust in the Texas Lottery has been shaken following the exploitation of a game system by a European syndicate using lottery couriers. The coalition, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Operators (CTLO), sees this as a misrepresentation of the entire courier industry, which is reportedly plagued by a small number of questionable actors.
The CTLO has been advocating for regulation of the industry, but it's been met with resistance from the state legislature. The organization is now urging the Texas House to support HB 3201, a bill that would establish regulatory guidelines for the courier sector. The CTLO believes this is the key to resolving the current crisis:
to win a $95 million jackpot in April 2023.
How Texas Lottery Couriers Operate
ban lottery courier services and revoke the license of any outlet that sold tickets to such businesses.
Lottery couriers allow players to select their preferred numbers directly through an application. Once the order is placed, a licensed, brick-and-mortar lottery vendor purchases the actual tickets on the players' behalf.
However, this process has recently come under fire due to the inclusion of lottery couriers in a controversial jackpot win, which predominantly favored a European syndicate.
The Gray Area of Lottery Couriers
Lottery couriers claim they operate in a legally-approved gray area. Although telephonic lottery ticket sales and online gambling are illegal in Texas, they argue that they only serve as delivery services for lottery tickets.
Previous statements from the Texas Lottery Commission suggest that while they consider courier services to be legal, they do not hold the authority to regulate them due to a lack of legislative mandate.
The CTLO plans to challenge the proposed ban, as they view it as an unjustified and abrupt response to the controversy. The Coalition believes that there are existing regulatory options that could address the issue while ensuring the propriety of the lottery courier business in Texas.
- The CTLO is urging the Texas House to support HB 3201, a bill proposed in 2025, which aims to establish regulatory guidelines for the lottery courier sector to resolve the ongoing crisis.
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- Despite the controversy surrounding a large jackpot win by an international syndicate using lottery couriers, the CTLO advocates for regulation, not a ban, of the courier sector in Texas, as seen in the 'panel__author' section that contains the author's tweet.