New Laws Aim To Clean Up The Texas Lottery

The Texas Lottery gets a second chance.

A Lottery Revamp

The Texas Lottery Commission is no more, abolished after a 32 year run and plenty of controversy. Under a new law, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation will run the state’s 8 billion dollar operation.

Controversy

The Texas Lottery found itself under the microscope due to two, multimillion dollar jackpots won in 2023 and 2025. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and lawmakers said the lottery commission ignored a money laundering scheme and illegal online ticket sales.

Senate Bill 3070

Senate Bill 3070 effectively ended the Texas Lottery in its present form and transferred operations to TDLR. The bill also established new operating procedures to prevent illegal activities.

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

The TDLR is not new to cleaning up the mess of state agencies. Since 2015, the department has seen 25 different programs placed under its authority, with the lottery being the largest to date. The lottery currently has close to 300 employees which will increase the TDLR staff by 50%.TDLR will also oversee the state’s charitable bingo games.

Operations

The average lottery ticket consumer will not notice any changes following the change in lottery management, but there will be some new rules. SB 3070 will place restrictions on the number of tickets that can be bought by one person. It will also criminalize lottery couriers that sell printed lottery tickets online.

Criminal Activity

In 2023, a group bought 99% of the Texas lottery’s 26 million possible ticket combinations to win a $95 million jackpot. Courier companies assisted in the win. Texas lawmakers said the lottery commission took part in potential money laundering via the “bulk purchase,” which led to the passage of legislation to ban the service.