Hello and welcome to Lottery Lens. On April 19, 2023, the Lotto Texas jackpot stood at $73 million, skyrocketing to $95 million by Saturday after 92 rollovers. Dawn Nettles, founder of the Lotto Report, recalled, “I knew right then. Somebody was buying all the combinations.” With 26 million possible picks, a syndicate guaranteed their win—and Texas paid out nearly $58 million after taxes. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick blasted it as “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas.” The scandal triggered a Texas Rangers probe, the retirement of executive director Gary Grief, and a ban on ticket consignment apps like Jackpocket and Lotto.com. Critics argue these courier services exploited legal gray areas, while the commission admits it “seemed quite comfortable operating in the gray areas of the State Lottery Act.” Now lawmakers have disbanded the current lottery commission and are drafting tighter rules. Nettles’s dogged reporting reminds us: when millions are on the line, one vigilant critic can force real reform.
Link to Article