The Texas Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 28, a sweeping piece of legislation that seeks to end online ticket sales by third-party services, as well as to address mounting concerns regarding the integrity of the Texas Lottery system.
The bill, filed by Senator Bob Hall (R), aims to ban courier services from facilitating ticket sales, particularly focusing on the issues surrounding the sale of tickets to minors and out-of-state customers.
SB 28 has drawn attention due to its broad bipartisan support, with 28 out of 31 state senators co-authoring the bill. Its passage comes at a time when the Texas Lottery has been under intense scrutiny following two high-profile jackpots that have raised questions about the legitimacy and oversight of the state's lottery system.
Lawmakers have accused the Texas Lottery Commission of turning a blind eye to illegal practices involving courier services that sell tickets outside of the legal parameters, including to minors and individuals not residing in Texas.
In Thursdays Senate session, Sen. Hall spoke about the Texas Lottery Commission, expressed frustration with the Texas Lottery Commission, accusing the agency of neglecting its responsibility to enforce state laws regarding ticket sales
“The Agency created loopholes specifically to allow the use of telephone and internet group purchases, resulting in underage gambling and other changes to open the door wide for changes the legislature intended to be illegal gambling practices.,” said Sen. Hall.
Hall then went on to express how the Texas Lottery Commission avoided taking responsibility for the damage that the courier services had done, only for them to come out Monday, February 24, and propose amendments that would prohibit the courier services
“It was the lottery staff and commissioners that provided the couriers with authorization to operate in the state and made the rules changes to fit the courier ticket order narrative, and then continuously deny that they had the authority to stop the illicit courier operation.” Hall continued by saying, “If the lottery commission to adopt an official motto today, it would have to include the words, lie, cheat, steal, mislead and cover up.”
The investigation into the Texas Lottery Commission by the Texas Rangers is still under way, as they are looking into the recent jackpot wins and the commissions communications with courier services.
The passing of SB 28 stands as an issue for the recent House Bill filed by Representative John Bucy III (D), which seeks to regulate couriers rather than ban them. The House Bill has not yet been referred to the committee but has received support from the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers.
