A Texas woman is suing the state after being told she cannot claim an $83 million lottery jackpot she says she rightfully won. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed the lawsuit in Montgomery County, about 40 miles from Houston, on May 19.
Doe says she bought her $20 “Lotto Texas” ticket on February 17 through a third-party app called Jackpocket. The ticket matched the winning numbers for the $83.5 million jackpot.
Her ticket was issued by Winners Corner, a licensed lottery retailer in Austin. But just one week later, the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) banned unregulated courier services like Jackpocket, effective immediately.
Doe claims this new rule was created after she won and is now being used to block her from collecting her prize. She went to claim the prize on March 18 but was never told her ticket was invalid. The TLC has neither accepted nor paid her claim. A spokesperson said the claim is still under review and part of an external investigation but declined to give more details due to ongoing litigation.
Doe argues the rule change cannot be applied retroactively. She says the state is breaking its own rules to avoid paying her. “I’ve gone through frustration and being sad and stressed,” she told The Austin-American Statesman.
Her lawyer, Randy Howry, called the lottery commission’s actions illegal. “Their argument doesn’t have merit whatsoever, and I don’t think it will ever stand up,” he told The U.S. Sun.
The lawsuit states that lottery rules cannot change after the winning numbers are drawn. Changing them now deprives Doe of her rightful winnings. The case also names Sergio Rey, the commission’s interim executive director who replaced Ryan Mindell in April. Mindell resigned amid investigations into courier services.
In February, Mindell expressed concerns that courier services could undermine the integrity and fairness of lottery games in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott also confirmed that both the jackpot dispute and courier service practices are under investigation.
A Texas House report from November 2024 noted that only three states—New York, New Jersey, and Arkansas—regulate lottery courier services. Texas currently does not.
