A lucky Texas woman won a whopping $83.5 million lottery jackpot back in February. However, what was supposed to be a life-changing sum has instead turned into incessant headaches as officials are currently debating if she should get her winnings or not, given the fact that she bought her ticket through a courier. Texas officials are now investigating the incident.
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A week after the anonymous-by-choice woman bought her winning ticket through Jackpocket, a third-party courier, on February 17, both Texas Governor Greg Abbot and Attorney General Ken Paxton issued similar statements. Both Abbot and Paxton said they are currently investigating the woman’s lottery courier purchase as well as an April 2023 bulk purchase.
“Texans must be able to trust in our state’s lottery system and know that the lottery is conducted with integrity and lawfully,” Abbot said. Similarly, Paxton said, “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.”
Policy Change
The controversy came after a policy change introduced on February 24 by the Texas Lottery Commision (TLC) made buying lottery tickets through courier services illegal. The TLC announced the policy change only a week after the woman won the $83.5 million jackpot. With the policy change, the woman’s winnings were denied.
In a news release issued by the TLC, its Executive Director, Ryan Mindell, called courier services a “significant concern” for their stakeholders. Therefore, the TLC conducted a review of its authority under the State Lottery Act…