A Texas lady has filed a complaint against the state lottery commission, alleging that a $83.5 million jackpot was withheld months after the numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers in a drawing.
According to the lawsuit filed on May 19, a lady named Jane Doe used the mobile application Jackpocket.com, or Jackpocket, to buy a ticket to the “Lotto Texas” game on the night of February 17.
Lottery ticket courier providers, such as Jackpocket, are neither licensed retailers or regulated in Texas, the lawsuit claims. Rather, the application serves as a liaison, acquiring tickets from authorized Texas lottery merchants on the client’s behalf.
According to the lawsuit, Jackpocket purchased Doe’s ticket at Winners Corner, a licensed lottery vendor in Austin, Texas. Doe claims her ticket matched the winning numbers from the “Lotto Texas” game, which was drawn that same night for $83.5 million.
One week later, the Texas Lottery Commission prohibited third-party lottery ticket delivery services, which took effect “immediately.”
The same day, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state will look into two cases in which lottery winners used courier services to buy tickets, one of which was Doe.
“Texans must be able to trust our state’s lottery system and know that it is operated with integrity and legality,” Abbott stated in the February statement. “Today, I asked the Texas Rangers to thoroughly investigate these instances and discover any potential wrongdoings. “Texans deserve a lottery that is fair and transparent to all.”
According to the lawsuit, on March 18, Doe delivered her ticket to the Texas Lottery Commission and was certified “the lawful bearer of the winning ticket in the Lotto Texas drawing that occurred on February 17, 2025.”
According to the Texas Lottery website, the winning ticket from the February 17 drawing was purchased at Winners Corner in Austin. The website indicates that the winner chose the cash value option for the $83.5 million reward.
A commission representative informed NBC News that the claim is being assessed in accordance with the Commission’s claim validation criteria and is being investigated outside. The agency does not have any additional information to share because it does not comment on ongoing litigation or investigations.”
Doe’s lawsuit argues the commission is “not allowed to change the rules after the drawing” and that it is “stalling” by failing to respond to the plaintiff’s requests for updates on the status of the awards.
“Every Texan knows what that should mean when it comes to the lottery — if you win, you should get paid,” according to the complaint.
