Skip to content
May 17, 2025
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

Bridging The Community’s World Wide

  • Home
  • IP TV LIVE
  • PODCAST
  • U.S.News
  • ELECTION 2024
  • State News
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Maine
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • West Virginia
    • U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Politics
  • World News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Weather
  • Business
  • Advisement
  • Health News
  • About Us
  • Contact us
Live TV

Texas lottery drawings that paid out big jackpots are the focus of widening investigatons

AUSTIN, Texas — Two major lottery drawings in Texas that put nearly $180 million in the pockets of winning ticket holders have set off widening state investigations over concern that ticket sellers and buyers may have exploited the rules.

The Texas Lottery, one of the largest in the U.S., is facing mounting scrutiny from state leaders over how the winners of an $83 million jackpot this month and a $95 million prize in 2023 purchased their odds-defying tickets. Both are among the largest jackpots in the history of the Texas lottery.

At the heart of the issue, Texas officials say, is whether the games are on a level playing field.

On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his own investigation on top of one announced earlier this week by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Part of the issue lies with couriers, the companies that purchase lottery tickets for customers remotely. One was used by this month’s winner.

“Texas citizens deserve far better than bad actors getting rich off of a lottery system that is open to exploitation, and we will hold anyone who engages in illegal activity accountable,” Paxton said in a statement.

Here’s what else to know about Texas’ mega lottery winnings:

What are courier services?

Couriers are companies that buy and send lottery tickets on behalf of customers online. The practice bypasses state law that requires tickets to be purchased in person. Couriers, which operate in 19 states according to a 2024 report from the Florida Office of Program Analysis and Government Accountability, do not have any regulatory oversight or licensing requirements in Texas.

Some lawmakers have expressed concern about children and people outside the state purchasing tickets.The head of the Texas Lottery Commission said this month that the agency will ban couriers, walking back years of resistance to pushing them out of the market.

“Lottery courier services operating in Texas have been a significant concern for many of our stakeholders,” executive director Ryan Mindell said in a statement. “Previously, the agency interpreted its authority as not extending to the regulation or prohibition of these services.” The agency has since reconsidered after reviewing state laws, Mindell said.

Who won the nearly $180 million?

Neither winner of the big drawings has come forward publicly and they are under no obligation to do so under Texas law.

The $83 million ticket was purchased by a customer at a courier store called Winners Corner in Austin on Feb 17. The chain has locations in six states.

The $95 million drawing from 2023 was won after the winners purchased nearly every possible number combination, according to Abbott’s office. An investigation by the Houston Chronicle found the ticket was purchased at a retailer that added a dozen lottery terminals to print tickets the day before the drawing.

Experts told the newspaper that QR codes can be read by the machines to process large volumes of tickets in a short time. Normally, the QR images generate directly from the Texas Lottery Commission’s mobile app.

One of the state’s five lottery commissioners has since resigned amid the criticism and the commission said it will no longer allow tickets to be purchased through couriers.

“We do not engage in bulk ticket purchasing, we are not part of some organized crime syndicate,” Paul Prezioso, an executive at courier site Jackpot.com told lawmakers Monday. “We believe that a regulated courier industry is a net positive for the state of Texas.”

Can you still purchase lottery tickets in Texas?

The Texas Lottery is still in full swing and residents will be allowed to use courier services until the state’s Lottery Commission changes the rules, which is expected to happen in April.

The commission’s plan to ban couriers comes after years of insisting that the body had no authority over the companies. It also follows criticism from Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a former television sportscaster in Houston who earlier this month walked into a Winners Corner store with a camera rolling and began asking questions.

Gambling in Texas

Texas gambling has had a complicated history in recent years. Efforts to expand gambling in the nation’s second-most populous state have failed despite expensive lobbying blitzes to bring casinos to the state and legalize sports gambling.

Supporters have sought to put a constitutional amendment to voters, but the proposals have not gotten far in the Legislature.

The state lottery has brought in more than $40 billion in revenue and awarded more than $90 billion in winnings since its establishment in 1992, according to the commission’s website.

About Author

Habib Habib

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade
Next: Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts

Related Stories

Immigrants working legally in the Texas Panhandle live in limbo under Trump’s crackdown

Immigrants working legally in the Texas Panhandle live in limbo under Trump’s crackdown

Texas county that swung to Trump grapples with immigration crackdown after bakery is targeted

Texas county that swung to Trump grapples with immigration crackdown after bakery is targeted

Gunman who killed 23 in racist attack at Texas Walmart is offered plea deal to avoid death penalty

Gunman who killed 23 in racist attack at Texas Walmart is offered plea deal to avoid death penalty

Entertainment

Tom Cruise brings ‘Final Reckoning’ to Cannes, but won’t bid ‘Mission: Impossible’ adieu yet 1

Tom Cruise brings ‘Final Reckoning’ to Cannes, but won’t bid ‘Mission: Impossible’ adieu yet

‘SNL’ to close out its 50th season with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny 2

‘SNL’ to close out its 50th season with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny

Jen Psaki stepping up for MSNBC as Rachel Maddow returns to once-a-week schedule 3

Jen Psaki stepping up for MSNBC as Rachel Maddow returns to once-a-week schedule

Book publishers see surging interest in the US Constitution and print new editions 4

Book publishers see surging interest in the US Constitution and print new editions

What to know about Harvey Weinstein’s #MeToo retrial with jury selection set to get underway 5

What to know about Harvey Weinstein’s #MeToo retrial with jury selection set to get underway

Ahead of spaceflight, Katy Perry is reading Carl Sagan and channeling her ‘feminine divine’ 6

Ahead of spaceflight, Katy Perry is reading Carl Sagan and channeling her ‘feminine divine’

British police charge comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault 7

British police charge comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault

Top News

Israel expands attacks in Gaza and Yemen as Trump wraps up trip to region

Israel expands attacks in Gaza and Yemen as Trump wraps up trip to region

Trump administration officials say Secret Service is investigating Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post

Trump administration officials say Secret Service is investigating Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post

Trump’s Mideast trip splashes out on deals and diplomacy but is unusually quiet on human rights

Trump’s Mideast trip splashes out on deals and diplomacy but is unusually quiet on human rights

Tom Cruise brings ‘Final Reckoning’ to Cannes, but won’t bid ‘Mission: Impossible’ adieu yet

Tom Cruise brings ‘Final Reckoning’ to Cannes, but won’t bid ‘Mission: Impossible’ adieu yet

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
Editor Nur M Tofader, 544 Taylor Avenue Bronx New York USA 10473, Tell: 7186396600, 7186396800, 7188441300, Email: Info@millenniuamnews24.com, Copyright © Millennium News 24/7 | DarkNews by AF themes.