Judge orders Texas Lottery Commission to protect $83.5 million of disputed funds won in February jackpot

The Hill

2 days ago

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) and its acting executive director from spending any of the $83.5 million a Houston woman won in a February Lotto Texas jackpot. None of the jackpot has been paid out because the Texas Rangers are currently investigating the win — along with an April 2023 jackpot win — to see if there was any foul play involved.
The judge wrote in the ruling that the Texas woman 'will be irreparably harmed if Defendant Sergio Rey, in his official capacity as acting executive director for the Texas Lottery Commission causes the $83,500,000 jackpot prize to be diminished, wasted, or paid to another before the merits of Plaintiff's claims are fully and finally adjudicated.'
The ruling comes the same day a bill to end the TLC was sent to the Governor's desk for final approval. Senate Bill 3070 would eliminate the commission and transfer the operation of the lottery and charitable bingo to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).
Randy Howry, the lottery winner's attorney, said he believes the restraining order will also apply to the TDLR if the Governor signs the bill into law. The restraining order has a limited lifespan. In this case it will only last three days because there is an evidentiary hearing on June 5 for a temporary injunction. A temporary injunction would protect those funds until a trial can happen.
Howry and his client are worried the February lottery winnings could be spent on other winners or pay for other costs within the commission as it faces extinction. 'We're doing everything we can to protect these funds,' Howry explained.
The Texas woman won the Feb. 17 lottery drawing worth $83.5 million. The woman purchased $20 worth of tickets on the Jackpocket app, a service that allows players to buy tickets over the phone.
Those services are known as lottery couriers and they have become the target of lawmakers this session who believe they are against the laws written in the state and believe the lottery commission acted beyond its means to allow couriers to operate in Texas.
Some lottery courier services were involved in helping a single entity, known as Rook TX, purchase and print more than $25 million worth of tickets in a 72-hour time span in April of 2023. That number of tickets nearly guaranteed the entity would have the winning ticket for a $95 million jackpot.
This session lawmakers have questioned the TLC and its commissioners about how something like that could happen. Lawsuits have been filed against those courier services and the former executive director of the commission.
In February, a week after the Texas woman won the jackpot, the TLC said it was banning lottery courier services and the Governor directed the Texas Rangers to investigate those two wins. Howry said he and his client were told by the commission they could not be paid out while the Rangers investigated. However, Howry says he and his client have not been questioned by any agency regarding the February drawing.