She won Lotto Texas jackpot but state isn’t yet handing over the $83.5M

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that the person who purchased the winning ticket for the $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot in the Feb. 17 drawing came forward to collect her prize Tuesday but was sent away empty-handed because of the mushrooming controversy over the use of third-party vendors who broker ticket sales through smartphone apps. The person, who spoke with the American-Statesman on the condition that her name not be used because of privacy concern, said she did nothing illegal or wrong when she purchased $20 worth of tickets using a phone app she has used on and off to buy Lotto and scratch-off tickets. Still, her payment is being held up pending the outcome of an investigation by the Texas Rangers. “I’ve gone through frustration and being sad and stressed,” she said in an interview that included her lawyer, Randy Howry of Austin. “And now I’m just angry.”

Just days before the drawing that would change the winner’s life, lottery Executive Director Ryan Mindell and members of the lottery’s governing board were excoriated during a Texas Senate Finance Committee hearing because third-party operators, called courier companies, had bypassed the state’s prohibition of selling game tickets by telephone. Mindell at the time told the Senate panel that he had no authority over the companies, because they were legally making in-person purchases from licensed lottery retailers. Still, several committee members said the companies could be used by unscrupulous buyers who might be underage or otherwise ineligible to play the Texas Lottery. The members were especially upset that a courier company was used to make a bulk purchase totaling more than $25 million to buy up more than 99% of the possible number combinations to win a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot in April 2023. Although the bulk purchase did not go through an app, Mindell was told that he should have suspected that the massive purchase of tickets could have involved a money launderer who was using the state-run lottery to legitimize profits from illicit enterprises.