The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers said that it strongly supports Hughes’ bill and its objective
Texas lottery couriers have placed their hopes in a new bill that may allow them to remain in business. The measure in question will prohibit the bulk purchasing of lottery tickets which would address some of the government’s gripes with courier services.
Lottery Couriers Are in Hot Water
Lottery couriers in Texas have been under fire by critics who have claimed that the services undermine the integrity of the Texas Lottery. Courier companies, for context, purchase tickets on behalf of players for a small fee, effectively allowing consumers to play remotely.
Some have drawn parallels between lottery couriers and online gambling, questioning their legality. The biggest concern, however, was sparked by a controversial jackpot win by a foreign consortium that bought out the tickets, securing itself a $95 million prize.
Many agreed that this clearly undermines the integrity of the lottery and that urgent action is needed. To that end, lawmakers proposed banning lottery couriers altogether – a measure that quickly secured unanimous approval in the Senate. SB 28 passed 31-0, approving a ban on lottery couriers in the Lone Star State.
However, there might still be some hope for courier companies as a separate measure proposes a different solution.
SB 1346 Would Ban Bulk Purchases of Tickets
SB 1346, sponsored by Senator Bryan Hughes, calls for the prohibition of bulk sales of Texas Lottery tickets instead. The measure seeks to address the problem at its core, potentially preventing the advent of other services, which might find loopholes to trade tickets in bulk.
This measure could introduce rules that make lottery couriers less risky to the integrity of the lottery, allowing them to remain in business. It was immediately backed by The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers (CTLC), which includes Jackpocket, Jackpot.com, and Lotto.com.
The CTLC said that it strongly supports Hughes’ bill and its objective. It emphasized that lottery couriers have long called for restrictions on bulk purchases to no avail.
We have for years advocated for statewide regulatory standards, including a prohibition on bulk purchases, and have been consistently told by the Texas Lottery Commission that it did not have the authority to regulate lottery couriers.
CTLC statement
The organization added that couriers have always sought to champion responsibility and operate to the highest legal standards. Because of that, the CTLC firmly supported non-reactionary measures that would tighten the lottery regulations instead of outright banning courier services.
DraftKings to Suffer Mildly if Couriers Are Banned
In other news, a recent report by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming suggested that not all companies will suffer if couriers are definitively banned in Texas. The firm said that the Texan ban on services such as Jackpocket, which is owned by DraftKings, would not affect the latter company as much as some have projected.
