Latest news with #LotteryCommission
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lottery skid extends through April
BOSTON (SHNS) – All but one Massachusetts Lottery offering saw its sales dip in April, though agency overseers approved changes to one game Tuesday that the Lottery expects will lead to increased sales and profits. The Lottery's $454 million in sales last month fell $29.3 million or 6.1% below sales in April 2024, according to Executive Director Mark William Bracken's report to the Lottery Commission on Tuesday. It was the fourth consecutive month featuring a year-over-year drop in sales. The only product to post an increase in April was Keno, which saw its sales climb by $5.9 million or 5.9% to $105.7 million for the month. On top of the sales slump, the Lottery's monthly profit was affected by a prize payout percentage higher than last April's. The Lottery estimated that it paid out the equivalent of 76.2% of April revenue in prizes last month, compared to 74.64% a year prior. The Lottery's estimated profit for April was $74.1 million, compared to $82.6 million in April 2024, according to Bracken's report. Through 10 months of fiscal year 2025, the Lottery has sold more than $4.89 billion worth of its scratch tickets, draw game numbers and more this year. That trails fiscal 2024 by $178.9 million or 3.5% through the same 10-month period. Keno and Lucky For Life are the only two Mass. Lottery games that have sold more in fiscal 2025 than they did to the same point in fiscal 2024. The Lottery said Tuesday it is currently estimating a net profit of $876.5 million so far in fiscal 2025. After adjusting for differences in the calendar, the Lottery said that represents a $88.3 million drop compared to the same checkpoint a year ago. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has told lawmakers she expects the Lottery to generate $1.05 billion in profit for fiscal 2025, and has also projected 'flat' retail sales and profit for fiscal 2026. The Lottery Commission on Tuesday voted to give Bracken the authority to amend the Lottery's regulations to facilitate a change to the drawing schedule for Mass Cash, a game first introduced in 1991, essentially expanding it by double. Drawings for that game happen daily at 9 p.m., but the Lottery is looking to begin holding two Mass Cash drawings a day starting July 20, one at midday and one in the evening. 'The Lottery anticipates this change will be welcomed by our players and will lead to increased sales and profits,' General Counsel Gregory Polin wrote in a memo about the change. To play Mass Cash, a bettor pays $1 to select five numbers between 1 and 35. Matching three of the numbers drawn wins $10, matching four wins $250 and matching all five wins the player $100,000. The Lottery says the overall odds of winning are 1 in 72, or 1 in 324,632 to win the grand prize. The Lottery had sold $67 million worth of Mass Cash tickets through April, according to Bracken's report Tuesday. That's down $1.9 million or 2.8% through the same 10 months of fiscal 2024. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House clears the way for Texas Lottery to continue under a different state agency
The Texas House on Sunday preliminarily voted to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission and transfer the state's game to another agency after a last-ditch effort to kill the game entirely failed. The fate of the 32-year-old lottery commission had been in limbo, as a routine state review requiring legislation to extend the game's existence had come concurrently with some lawmakers' calls to shut down the lottery entirely over allegations of wrongdoing. An alternative was presented earlier this month in an unusual late-session filing of Senate Bill 3070: let the Texas Lottery Commission die, and transfer game operations, including charitable bingo operations, to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The bill is now likely the lottery's only way forward, as neither of the two 'sunset' bills continuing the commission have been touched by lawmakers for months. Beyond the agency move, SB 3070 contains several other lottery regulations also proposed in other bills this session. Those new restrictions include a new ban on online lottery ticket sales with language almost identical to one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's legislative priorities, Senate Bill 28. It also sidesteps the lottery's final hurdle, its loss of funding after the House removed it from its next biennial budget proposal in April. That money would have needed to be returned to allow the agency to continue. Rep. Charlie Geren proposed a new 60-page version of the bill from the House floor, fine-tuning some of the proposed investigative tools the new lottery department would have to root out illegal sales. SB 3070 also contains a provision requiring the Sunset Advisory Commission to review the lottery's operations under its new agency before 2029 to determine whether it should continue. That deadline was originally in 2027 when the bill passed through the Senate unanimously on May 15, which Patrick described as a 'two-year lease on life' for the game. Before ultimately OK'ing the bill 110-29, House members struck down a proposal to end the lottery altogether, as Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville, introduced an amendment to Geren's bill that would have abolished the game entirely in September. That amendment failed 71-58. Money called the lottery the 'most regressive tax' in Texas, and his supporters claimed the game unfairly preys on the poor and could not be run fairly in any capacity. 'The problem is, as a legislature, if we know an agency is corrupt, shouldn't we just abolish it?' Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth said during floor discussion on Sunday. The lottery has received significant criticism from lawmakers over two jackpots won under circumstances they say epitomize the commission's failure to oversee the game safely. In the first, a single group in April 2023 printed 99% of the 25.8 million possible ticket combinations — called a 'bulk purchase' — winning a $95 million jackpot. In another February win, a Texas woman bought the winning ticket, worth $83.5 million, through an online app known as a lottery courier. First reported by the Houston Chronicle, the 'bulk purchase' received national coverage after it was revealed that millions of tickets were printed at four different locations on dozens of lottery terminals provided specifically for the mass-ticket effort. A lottery courier was also involved in the bulk purchase, which comprised 99% of the 26 million possible ticket combinations for the jackpot, but did not sell the tickets through its online service. Couriers, who had been operating in Texas by printing physical tickets at retail stores they owned before scanning and sending digital copies to customers, would be banned under SB 3070's online ticket sale restrictions. The online services' operations became another point of contention between the lottery commission and lawmakers after the agency passed its own ban on couriers after it maintained for years it could not regulate them. That rule is currently being contested in court by a national courier company, The lottery commission's likely dissolution is just one part of the fallout from the controversial jackpots and concerns over couriers. A commissioner with the lottery resigned in February, followed by its executive director in April. The $83.5 million win has yet to be paid out, as Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas Rangers, a division of the Department of Public Safety, are still investigating both jackpots for potential illegal activity. The anonymous woman filed a lawsuit last week seeking to force the lottery commission to release her winnings. SB 3070 requires a final vote in the House and the Senate's approval of the House's changes before heading to Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has largely remained silent on the lottery's fate outside of ordering the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation in February. The bill would take effect immediately if signed, as it received more than two-thirds majority vote in the House and a unanimous vote in the Senate. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
CNN
25-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Texas woman sues state lottery after not receiving $83.5M jackpot
Source: CNN A woman in Texas is suing the state's Lottery Commission for not paying out an $83.5 million award, more than three months after the numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers in a drawing, according to court documents obtained by CNN. 'Every Texan knows what that should mean when it comes to the lottery – if you win, you should get paid,' the suit says. 'It shouldn't take a lawsuit to get paid when you win the lottery. But that's exactly what has happened here.' The woman bought her ticket through a lottery courier service, firms which allow customers to purchase tickets virtually, using a mobile app or other online interface. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in the suit, purchased a ticket for the 'Lotto Texas' lottery game through an app called Jackpocket on February 17, and her numbers matched those of the numbers pulled at 10:12 p.m. CT the same day, according to the lawsuit. A week after Doe won her ticket, then-Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell announced a move to ban courier services like the one Doe used, under Texas law. The ban became effective on May 19, according to a lottery commission spokesperson. Mindell resigned in April. 'We all know the Commission is not allowed to change the rules after the drawing. But the Commission has apparently tried to do so and relied—at least in part—on this ex post facto announcement to continue to refuse to pay Plaintiff her lottery winnings simply because she utilized a lottery ticket courier service to buy the winning ticket,' the lawsuit says. A spokesperson told CNN in an email Saturday the commission 'does not comment on pending litigation.' The lawsuit also alleges Doe's unpaid winnings could be used to pay other Texas Lottery winners, or may be reallocated and redirected to 'other Commission liabilities or purposes,' potentially reducing the amount owed to her. Attorneys for the woman have also filed for a temporary restraining order and requested for a temporary injunction to stop Acting Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Lottery Commission Sergio Rey from doling out funds, which the lawsuit alleges Doe still has not received. 'If Mr. Rey is not restrained and enjoined from disbursing or diminishing the Plaintiff's jackpot prize winnings, Plaintiff will suffer damages that will be incapable of being measured by any certain pecuniary standard before notice is given and a hearing is held on Plaintiff's Application for Temporary Injunction,' a court document said. CNN has reached out to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office, Jackpocket, and Rey for comment. A lottery courier service acts as a third-party vendor that buys lottery tickets on behalf of customers, coordinates the purchase of physical tickets through brick and mortar stores the services often own, and notifies buyers if they win. Courier services are typically operated online or through an app, offering a convenient way to play games. Some couriers even offer national lottery games like Mega Millions and Powerball. Lottery couriers, which had been operating in Texas since 2019, became a focus in April 2023 after a single entity bought 25 million lottery tickets in less than 72 hours using a courier service, CNN affiliate WFAA reported. The entity purchased 'nearly every possible number combination,' the release from the governor's office said at the time. The investor doubled its money because the jackpot was so high, and the winner took home $57.8 million before taxes, WFAA said. Courier services are operating in 19 states, according to a report published in 2024 by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Only three states – New York, New Jersey and Arkansas – regulate the courier service industry, according to a 2024 Texas House report. Without such regulations in Texas, couriers are not required to obtain a license or permission from the Texas Lottery to operate, the report found. Purchasing via a lottery courier has two advantages for the customer, said Victor Matheson, professor of economics at College of the Holy Cross. 'It allows the buyer to conveniently buy tickets without having to go to a regular lottery retailer and it also potentially allows out-of-state buyers to purchase tickets in any lottery across the country,' Matheson said in February. The service can have drawbacks like a fee, legality issues and lack of a limit to how many tickets are purchased, Matheson added. Other legal concerns include the regulation of sales across state lines when each state controls its own lottery games, sales to underage players, ticket buying syndicates and other issues. See Full Web Article
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$83.5M jackpot winner files suit demanding payment from Texas lottery: 'Do the right thing'
The winner of the Feb. 17 Lotto Texas jackpot worth $83.5 million has filed a lawsuit in Travis County seeking to compel the Lottery Commission to pay up. The winning ticket, purchased through a courier company, has been ruled valid but the commission has refused to pay it out because the Texas Rangers are investigating the use of courier companies in Texas. "We waited as long as we could for the lottery to do the right thing," Randy Howry, an Austin attorney representing the winner, told the American-Statesman on Thursday. "Now, we're asking the judge to issue an order telling the lottery to pay." If that order is not handed down, Howry said his client will seek an order to compel the lottery to set aside the prize money until the case is finally settled. "We understand that there's an effort in the Legislature to move the lottery to a different state agency, and we don't want that money to get lost in the shuffle," he said. The buyer of the winning ticket, who under state law is permitted to remain anonymous, used a smartphone app developed by the third-party vendor, Jackpocket, to purchase 20 tickets for the drawing and one of them matched all six numbers in the Lotto Texas draw. More: The latest effort to overhaul the Texas lottery could come with a hefty price tag. Here's why. Around the same time, the Lottery Commission's allowance of third-party ticket vendors, known in the industry as lottery courier companies, was coming under increasingly harsh criticism from several high-ranking state elected officials because the 1991 statute that established the state-run gambling operation expressly forbids using a telephone to play the games. Between the time the Feb. 17 jackpot was won and the winner had come forward, Gov. Greg Abbott had ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate circumstances surrounding the ticket purchase as well as a separate bulk purchase of more than $24 million of Lotto tickets through the use of a courier company that resulted in the buyer claiming the $95 million jackpot in April 2023. The lucky ticket in the Feb. 17 drawing was purchased at an Austin outlet called Winners Corner, which is owned by Jackpocket, a lottery courier affiliated with the sports betting company DraftKings. More: Texas Lottery fines its top vendor $180K for political donations. How IGT is fighting back The winner told the Statesman in March that she was not part of a bulk purchasing operation and expressed disappointment that her good fortune had become entangled with a political and legislative battle that has nothing to do with her. "I've gone through frustration and being sad and stressed," she said in an interview after the Statesman granted her request for anonymity because of privacy concerns. "And now I'm just angry." The Lottery Commission declined to comment on the pending litigation. The courier controversy prompted the Senate to pass legislation that would dismantle the five-member commission appointed by Abbott to oversee the lottery's operation, and instead transfer its duties to the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation. The legislation, Senate Bill 3070, would allow the actual lottery games, which bring in about $2 million annually to the state, to continue. The proposal also expressly bans the use of lottery couriers in Texas. The House State Affairs Committee this week advanced SB 3070 to the full House for consideration, but the measure has not yet been set for debate. The legislative session ends June 2. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lotto Texas jackpot winner files suit demanding payment from lottery
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senator's bill would save Texas Lottery, but end Lottery Commission
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – A Texas state senator who previously called for eliminating the Texas Lottery is now proposing legislation that would keep the games going. Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, filed Senate Bill 3070, which calls for transferring lottery operations to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and abolishing the Texas Lottery Commission. Hall was one of the first lawmakers to call for an investigation into the Texas Lottery Commission over their alleged role in a controversial 2023 Lotto Texas drawing. He previously filed Senate Bill 1988, which would eliminate the lottery. On Monday, Hall laid out SB 3070 before the Senate State Affairs committee. Hall restated his belief that the Lottery Commission helped rig the 2023 jackpot drawing. He also outlined his belief that the lottery amounts to a regressive tax on poor Texans. Hall showed fellow senators on the committee charts showing that people in lower income areas in Texas make up the majority of lottery players. High income areas account for significantly fewer lottery ticket purchases. 'When we talk about the revenue raised by the Texas Lottery, we're talking about revenue raised to the detriment of those in our state who are the most vulnerable and least fortunate,' Hall told committee members. But Hall also acknowledged an argument made by supporters of the lottery. He noted that the Texas Lottery contributed more than $2 billion to benefit schools and veterans in fiscal year 2023. 'So if there isn't enough of an appetite to get rid of the lottery outright, then this bill represents the next best thing – moving oversight of a lottery operation to TDLR and dissolving the Lottery Commission,' Hall said. SB 3070 calls for creating a Lottery Advisory Committee 'to provide external expertise on the lottery.' It would also ban ticket sales via phone, internet, or app. The bill also limits the number of lottery tickets that could be sold in a single purchase to 100 tickets. Senator Hall told committee members that there will likely be amendments to the bill. He outlined plans to include restrictions on where people can buy tickets, age verification requirements, as well as tougher penalties for illegal ticket sales. The committee left the legislation pending. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
