AUSTIN, Texas — The state of Texas has taken a step towards further reigning in the state lottery, in the aftermath following allegations of fraud and game manipulation by a former Texas Lottery director.
On Thursday, the Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill that would ban lottery couriers, SB 28. The bill would ban the sale of lottery tickets by a third-party service, either by phone or digitally.
Couriers are third-party vendors who buy lottery tickets for other people. The bill also clarifies that selling lottery tickets online is banned and would require the Texas Lottery Commission to adopt rules to enforce the ban.
This week, the Texas Lottery Commission adopted rules to ban couriers after a ticket that won over $83 million was sold at a store in Austin through a courier. The store and courier are both owned by sports betting company DraftKings.
State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), the bill’s author, believes it will help address what he calls “corruption within the state lottery.”
“SB 28 will not restore integrity to the Texas lottery. I don’t even know if that’s possible,” Hall said. “But it will reiterate the responsibility we have given the commission to ensure lottery couriers and their licensed retail outlets are no longer able to operate in the state in language even they should be able to understand.”
“The Texas Lottery cannot continue unless the people of Texas have faith that the game is not rigged in advance or that it is not being used as a criminal enterprise to launder massive amounts of money,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement Thursday. “Today, the Senate made it clear that the first step in restoring public trust in the commission, if even possible, is to ban lottery couriers. The decision on whether the lottery will continue will be made in the coming days and weeks of the legislative session.”
SB 28 will now head to the Texas House.