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Texas may be trying to ban lottery couriers, but one digital ticket-slinger just hit a lucky break in court. With a judge now in their corner, LTC Texas is holding onto its terminals — for now. But with lawmakers threatening to ban couriers altogether, this game is far from over.
Judge sides with lottery courier
As Lottery USA previously reported, LTC Texas, which operates New Jersey-based third-party vendor Lotto.com, had sued the Texas Lottery Commission last month after it put a rule in place that would revoke the license of any lottery retailer that does business with lottery couriers.
Now, a judge has made her first ruling in the case and has sided with the lottery couriers. State District Judge Sherine Thomas has issued a temporary restraining order that specifically prevents the enforcement of the rule against LTC. She then set a hearing on the matter for May 27.
In the ruling, Thomas said the TLC may not “seize or repossess terminals” belonging to LTC Texas or take any other enforcement action. While she said in her ruling that she believes that LTC has demonstrated it is likely to win its case, that ruling should not be viewed as a final judgment.
Moving forward, the Texas Senate will play a huge part
Many lawmakers in Texas, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have complained about the lottery's acceptance of lottery couriers. They state that these companies provide a workaround to the 1991 lottery statute that forbids using a telephone to buy or sell game tickets.
Meanwhile, the bill that would ban lottery couriers has passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House.
On May 5, 2025, the Senate State Affairs Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 1988, which would abolish the lottery altogether. The author of the bill states the TLC has lost touch with its mission years ago. Sen. Bob Hall, a Republican from Edgewood, said:
It will be crystal clear to everyone listening that the Lottery Commission has failed to uphold any of the principles of honesty and integrity. It is a well-known fact that gambling, and the lottery is gambling, always attracts a culture of corruption.
$95 million Lotto Texas win set off the alarms
All of this stems back to the $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot win in April 2023. The winning ticket was purchased in person, a group reportedly organized by a gaming entrepreneur operating out of Malta reportedly used lottery couriers to buy almost 26 million Lotto number combinations, which virtually guaranteed they would win the jackpot.
Investigations into that jackpot win led to all of these bans and bills. Until earlier this year, lottery officials claimed they were powerless to regulate courier companies because they purchased the tickets. However, lawmakers grilled then-executive director Ryan Mindell, and the TLC reversed course and approved a ban on lottery couriers, which prompted the lawsuit from LTC Texas. Mindell then resigned last month without explanation.
Enjoy playing the Texas Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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