Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating the state’s lottery system, citing suspicious and possibly unlawful lottery “winnings” involving bulk ticket purchases and third-party couriers.
The move comes just days after Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate similar concerns, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick demanded that the probe be expanded.
Paxton’s investigation will examine whether state or federal laws were violated, particularly in cases where large quantities of tickets were obtained in a short period of time. One of the incidents under scrutiny involves the recent $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot, where the winning ticket was purchased through a lottery courier service—an industry that Texas officials have now rushed to ban amid intensifying criticism.
“I’m deeply concerned about the integrity of our state’s lottery system, especially when it appears that non-citizens have shown that they are attempting to rig the system to win on demand,” Paxton said in his announcement. “Texas citizens deserve far better than bad actors getting rich off of a lottery system that is open to exploitation, and we will hold anyone who engages in illegal activity accountable.”
Paxton’s probe runs parallel to an ongoing Texas Rangers investigation ordered by Gov. Abbott earlier this week. Abbott directed the Rangers to investigate both the recent courier-ticket jackpot and a separate $95 million Lotto Texas win in April 2023, which was reportedly won through a bulk purchase of nearly every possible number combination.
“Texans must be able to trust in our state’s lottery system and know that the lottery is conducted with integrity and lawfully,” Abbott said in his statement. “Today, I directed the Texas Rangers to fully investigate these incidents and identify any potential wrongdoing. Texans deserve a lottery that is fair and transparent for everyone.”
But according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the scope of the investigation needs to go even further.
Patrick followed up Abbott’s announcement with a letter urging that the Texas Rangers expand their probe to examine the Lottery Commission’s decisions as far back as 2016.
“Based on new admissions and information through public statements and testimony before the legislature by the Texas Lottery Commission today, testimony before the Senate Finance Committee two weeks ago, and Senator Hall’s layout today of facts going back almost nine years, it is clear this investigation needs to be broadened,” Patrick wrote.
Patrick is calling for the Rangers to investigate not just individual jackpot winners, but the entire Lottery Commission’s handling of couriers, bulk purchasers, and potential internal wrongdoing over the past nine years.
“Texans who play the lottery must be confident it is an honest and fair game they can trust,” he added.
The Lottery Commission, which until recently insisted it lacked the authority to regulate couriers, reversed course Monday by announcing a statewide ban on courier services.
The Texas Senate, meanwhile, is slated to pass a ban on the practice as soon as Wednesday.
