Texas Lt. Gov. visits lottery courier retailer, lottery commission ahead of key meeting

AUSTIN (Texas) — On Friday morning, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted a video on X with a simple message.

"A New Video on the Lottery Saga," it read, as he stood outside Winners Corner -- a retailer which at one point had 47 Lottery terminals to help facilitate mobile purchases on the app Jackpocket. Jackpocket -- a Draftkings subsidiary -- owns Winner's Corner.

In February, a $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot was won on Jackpocket, with the physical ticket sold at Winners Corner. Since then, Gov. Greg Abbott has called for an investigation into the win, while the winner has considered filing a lawsuit against the Texas Lottery Commission.

'Same nonsense again'

"We've come back to where it all started from months ago," Patrick said outside the store, referencing his visit to the store in February. "I was here the last time and exposed what courier services really were. Six days later, after the Lottery Commission said they had nothing to do with the couriers and couldn't regulate them, guess what they did? Six days later they ended all courier services operations in Texas."

Inside the store, Patrick asked to go to the back area which used to house the machines. Instead he was given a number to call.

"The Lieutenant Governor of Texas, I want to see if our taxpayer equipment is back there, and Jackpocket courier service says I have to call and he's the one who will give me permission," Patrick said while holding up a sticky note handed to him by the cashier. "Same nonsense again from Jackpocket, the courier service. That's not what we as legislators or statewide officials expect from people who do business with the state of Texas, and we won't put up with it."

A representative for the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) said Winners Corner currently has one terminal.

'We're looking everywhere, he's kind of disappeared'

After his segment at Winners Corner, Patrick visited the TLC's office. According to the TLC, the entire segment was filmed inside the Executive Director's office, which is currently vacant after the resignation of Ryan Mindell earlier this week.

"It's empty as you can see, because the executive director (Ryan Mindell) just quit this week," Patrick said. "The other executive director (Gary Grief) that was in charge when a $95 million jackpot was, I think, stolen from the people by one person who bought 26 million tickets back in 2023. That executive director, we can't find him anywhere."

Patrick was referring to another drawing under investigation by the Texas Rangers, where a company named Rook TX was able to secure a $95 million jackpot by buying nearly every possible number combination. Greg Potts, the Chief Operating Officer at Lottery.com -- a financially-troubled lottery courier service who helped execute the mass ticket purchase -- said Grief and the TLC allowed the purchase to happen.

As Texas legislators float bills to abolish the TLC, Patrick had a final word for viewers.

"The bottom line is this," Patrick said from his office. "For (the Texas Lottery) to continue, you as the taxpayers and those who play the lottery must be assured that every game is honest and you have a fair chance to win. If we cannot guarantee that, then the lottery should not continue.

Couriers fighting for their life

Patrick's video comes just five days before the TLC meets to discuss finding a new executive director and to codify rules to ban lottery couriers.

"On Tuesday, April 29, the Commission is scheduled to consider adoption of the rule changes that were proposed pursuant to the Policy Statement at the March 4 Commission Meeting," the TLC said in a statement. "If adopted, when the rule changes take effect 20 days after filing with the Texas Register, the agency may lawfully revoke a retailer’s license after an administrative hearing solely for selling tickets to, working with, or otherwise assisting a lottery courier service."

In response, LTC Texas LLC -- which operates the courier service Lotto.com -- filed a 24-page lawsuit against the TLC and acting Deputy Executive Director Sergio Rey to try to stop the proposed changes.

"Texas often boasts that it is the best state for business. LTC took Texas at its word when it
brought its business here in 2022. And LTC went above and beyond to ensure compliance with
any applicable state law and the state regulatory scheme, relying on guidance from the
Commission’s former and current leadership in the process," the lawsuit says. "In return, the Commission changed rules on the fly and without due process; has made up other new “rules” illegally and unconstitutionally targeting LTC’s business; and has all but hounded LTC and other responsible lottery couriers out of business in the state."

The lawsuit goes on to detail how the TLC, under the direction of Grief, not only allowed courier services but openly worked with them.

"(Then-Lottery Operations Director) Mindell informed Lotto.com of exactly what steps it needed to take to get certification from the Texas Lottery that its business model was not inconsistent with Texas law," the lawsuit alleges. "Lotto.com submitted a request for a legal opinion from the Texas Lottery that its courier operations would not violate Texas law. Mindell replied on July 19, 2021, confirming that Lotto.com as a courier was not required to “obtain a license or other authorization from the Commission,” and concluding that “the form of the described transactions does not appear to involve a regulated sale of lottery tickets under the State Lottery Act."

Outside of the confirmation from the TLC saying Lotto.com was above board, the lawsuit alleges they worked with Grief, Mindell and General Counsel Bob Biard to show off their digital scratch-off technology, taking their feedback and using it to launch the product in Texas.

They say the TLC's 'investigation' which caused them to change their tune about Lotto.com's legality was a five-minute visit to their store on Feb. 24, followed by a Feb. 26 show cause letter telling them they had "endangered the security and integrity of the lottery games," by using QR codes to process player orders. However, the lawsuit alleges the TLC and International Game Technology (IGT) -- the company who owns and operates the lottery machines -- worked with Lotto.com to implement the QR code system, also claiming the TLC had visited three prior times without raising concerns.

They also allege that the TLC gave Lotto.com the explicit use of the TLC logo.

On Tuesday, the Lottery Commission will meet to codify rules designed to ban lottery couriers, with the threat of a lawsuit coming from one end, and the threat of being shut down entirely coming from the other side.

"The Texas Lottery Commission does not comment on pending litigation," they said when asked for comment about the lawsuit.