A Texas woman is taking the state’s lottery commission to court after winning a staggering $83 million jackpot, only to be denied the prize months later.
The unidentified winner seemingly struck gold in February after purchasing a lotto ticket through Jackpocket – a third-party courier app that lets users play official state lottery games from their phones, People reported.
Her win – a jaw-dropping $83.5 million – was officially confirmed by the Texas lottery, yet she claims she hasn’t seen a single cent of the massive payout.
Instead, her winnings have been frozen, and the ticket is now under investigation amid growing controversy over the use of third-party couriers apps – services that lawmakers are now considering banning altogether.
Now, three months later, she’s filed a lawsuit against the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC), accusing it of unlawfully withholding her prize, despite her insistence that she followed all the rules and did nothing wrong.
‘I’m being treated as the bad guy,’ the woman told KXAN News.
In February of this year, the woman bought $20 worth of lotto tickets for the February 17 drawing at Winner’s Corner Store in North Austin – a location owned by DraftKings, the same company that owns the Jackpocket app she used to play.
The app allows users to buy official state lottery and scratch-off tickets directly from their phones. The third-party service operates by buying tickets on behalf of the customers – either online or in person – for a small service fee, KXAN reported.
A Texas woman is taking the state’s lottery commission to court after winning a staggering $83 million jackpot, which have been frozen. The ticket is now under investigation amid growing controversy over the use of third-party couriers apps to purchase lotto tickets
In February of this year, the unidentified woman bought $20 worth of lotto tickets for the February 17 drawing at Winner’s Corner Store in North Austin (pictured) – a location owned by DraftKings, the same company that owns the Jackpocket app she used to play
Jackpocket is a third-party lottery courier app that lets users play official state lottery games from their phones and operates by buying tickets on behalf of the customers – either online or in person – for a small service fee
The TLC faced growing pressure from state lawmakers who believed the lottery courier services are illegal under current law – and who criticized the commission for allowing these services to operate in Texas
After her multi-million win, the TLC faced growing pressure from state lawmakers who believed the lottery courier services are illegal under current law – and who criticized the commission for allowing these services to operate in Texas.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick visited the store where the $83.5 million winning jackpot ticket was sold to ‘investigate’ for himself, later expressing on X that he was far from pleased with what he saw inside.
According to Patrick, the back of the store – hidden from public view – was packed with a large number of lottery terminals, while the front mainly featured board games for sale.
‘We’re not suggesting anything illegal, but this is not the way the lottery was designed to operate,’ Patrick said in a video he shared to X.
‘It was designed to operate by someone coming into a store, giving someone cash and getting a ticket back – not for machines behind walls, and not from a courier service and a retailer all being connected,’ he added.
In response to the mounting pressure, the TLC issued a news release, raising concerns about the growing influence of these third-party services.
Then-executive director of the commission, Ryan Mindell, stated that lottery courier services ‘are not allowed under Texas law and that the Commission would move forward with proposed rule amendments prohibiting such services in the future.’
Later that day, Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation into her $83.5 million lottery win, along with a separate $95 million jackpot win claimed in 2023.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (pictured) visited the store where the $83.5 million winning jackpot ticket was sold to ‘investigate’ for himself, later expressing on X that he was far from pleased with what he saw inside
According to Patrick, the back of the store – hidden from public view – was packed with a large number of lottery terminals, while the front mainly featured board games for sale (pictured)
Then-executive director of the TLC, Ryan Mindell (pictured), announced that lottery courier services ‘are not allowed under Texas law’ in a news release a week after the $83.5 million win
In April of 2023, a single group – identified only as a business entity called Rook TX of New Jersey – were able to purchase $25 million worth of tickets, resulting in possessing nearly every possible number combination in the drawer, The New York Times reported.
However, the woman insists she shouldn’t be grouped with the 2023 incident, as she did nothing wrong and only bought a single ticket – ultimately rejecting any claims she tried to defraud the system.
‘I literally spent $20. I didn’t spent $26 million to run every single possible combination of numbers,’ she told KHOU News.
‘If the Lottery Commission didn’t do an investigation into the April 2023 jackpot winner, that’s on you,’ she added. ‘That’s not my fault.’
On Wednesday, Howry, Breen & Herman, LLP – an Austin-based law firm representing the woman – announced their lawsuit against Sergio Rey, the acting deputy executive director of the TLC, People reported.
‘It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get paid when you win the lottery,’ the complaint, filed through Travis County District Court and obtained by People, read. ‘But that’s exactly what has happened here.’
‘Because the Texas Lottery has not acted with integrity, has not acted with responsibility, and has not paid Ms. Doe as the rightful and undisputed winner, she had to bring this lawsuit to get paid as the undisputed winner of the $83,500,000.00.’
At the heart of the dispute is the use of Jackpocket, which the woman ‘and thousands of other Texans have used for years to lawfully purchase Texas lottery tickets’, according to the complaint.
Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation into her $83.5 million lottery win, along with a separate $95 million jackpot win claimed in 2023
In April of 2023, a single group were able to purchase $25 million worth of tickets making nearly every possible combination in the draw (pictured: Gov. Greg Abbott)
The woman presented her winning ticket to the commission on March 18, where officials determined she was the ‘lawful bearer of the winning ticket’ under Texas Government Code § 466.4001 (stock photo)
According to the document, the woman presented her winning ticket to the commission on March 18, where officials determined she was the ‘lawful bearer of the winning ticket’ under Texas Government Code § 466.4001.
However, the complaint claimed that both Rey and the commission refused to release the prize, ‘apparently at the behest of one or more elected office holders’.
While the commission froze her earnings to ‘investigate’ the broader implications of third-party courier services, her legal team argues that she followed all rules and played fairly – insisting she shouldn’t be punished for using a platform that was legal at the time of her purchase.
The complaint also pointed to the news release issued by the TLC just one week after the woman’s win, in which the agency declared that all lottery ticket courier services were illegal under state law.
‘We all know the Commission is not allowed to change the rules after the drawing,’ the complaint argued.
‘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 also alleged that Rey and the commission have failed to respond to her written requests about the status of her multi-million prize – or whether she will even receive it.
‘They are simply stonewalling the winner, stalling and not being responsible or acting with any integrity,’ the complaint stated. ‘In fact, what they are doing is illegal.’
On Wednesday, Howry, Breen & Herman, LLP – an Austin-based law firm representing the woman – announced their lawsuit against Sergio Rey (pictured), the acting deputy executive director of the TLC
At the heart of the dispute is the use of Jackpocket, which the woman ‘and thousands of other Texans have used for years to lawfully purchase Texas lottery tickets’
Randy Howry (pictured), the woman’s attorney, told People that his client – a widow and mother-of-two – had used the Jackpot app for years without any prior issues receiving her winnings
Now, the woman and her legal team are asking the court to formally declare her the rightful winner of the $83.5 million prize and to compel Rey to comply with the law and release the payout
Randy Howry, the woman’s attorney, told People that his client – a widow and mother-of-two – had used the Jackpot app for years without any prior issues receiving her winnings.
‘She just preferred to play this way and felt more safe and didn’t have to leave her house,’ Howry told the outlet. ‘She played by all the rules.’
‘She did everything the right way…’ he added. ‘She’s just a regular citizen who decided to play the lottery… If you allow a person to play by your rules and they win and you refuse to pay them, then why would anyone play the Texas lottery going forward?’
Now, the woman and her legal team are asking the court to formally declare her the rightful winner of the $83.5 million prize and to compel Rey to comply with the law and release the payout, according to the complaint.
However, the general counsel for TLC told Howry that the commission would not make a decision on if they would pay her until the Texas Rangers completed their investigation, KXAN News reported.
Firing back, Howry stated that if the winnings are not paid in three days, he and his client will consider all options – including litigation.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Jackpocket stated that despite their track record of responsible gambling, their services were banned in the state of Texas by the TLC – effective immediately, according to KXAN.
At the same time, the woman has stated that she hopes the issue is resolved quickly, expressing how the money would give her a chance to experience things she never thought possible.
‘This is an opportunity for me to do other things with my life and I want to be able to go do those,’ she told the outlet.
For now, the $83.5 million remains in limbo – as does the fate of online lottery gaming in Texas.