A woman from Texas is suing the Texas Lottery over an $83.5 million prize, which ended up being frozen due to the mounting political backlash in the lottery. The unlucky woman bought the winning ticket through a lottery courier in February, but her prize winnings were frozen amid investigations by the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Rangers.

A woman who believed she had won a life-changing $83.5 million Texas Lottery jackpot has filed a lawsuit against the state after her winnings were frozen due to a sweeping investigation into lottery couriers. The plaintiff, whose identity remains confidential, purchased her winning ticket online through a courier service in February - just as political and legal scrutiny of the lottery courier industry intensified.

Her attorney, Randy Howry, emphasized that she was an innocent player caught in the crossfire of a broader controversy. "It was the thrill of victory and then the agony of defeat," stated Howry. "She's been caught up in a situation where she thought her life had changed. Now it's been jerked out from under her, and no one's given her a reason why."

Frozen winnings amid syndicate scandal

The woman's jackpot has been frozen by order of the Texas Attorney General's Office and is now under external investigation by the Texas Rangers. This is part of a broader probe into the misuse of lottery couriers by a European syndicate that, authorities allege, manipulated the April 22, 2023 draw by purchasing 25.8 million tickets - enough to cover every possible combination.

This sophisticated operation is believed to have netted the syndicate not only the $95 million jackpot from that draw but also millions more in secondary prizes. The group is allegedly tied to the founders of the UK-based sportsbook operator Colossus Bets and claimed its winnings through a shell company, Rook TX, incorporated in Delaware.

Legitimate purchase or collateral damage?

Despite her use of the same courier infrastructure exploited by the syndicate, the woman maintains she acted independently and legally. The service she used, Jackpocket.com, procured her ticket through an authorized lottery retailer, which at the time was sanctioned by the Texas Lottery Commission.

While courier services have since been banned in Texas, they were considered legitimate at the time of her purchase. "If the Texas lottery is going to allow people to play by their rules and then they won't pay, at the end of the day what integrity does the Texas lottery have?" asked Howry, directly challenging Texas Governor Greg Abbott's commitment to preserving lottery integrity.

Lawsuit filed, commission under fire

The woman's lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Travis County District Court and seeks the full payout of her $83.5 million jackpot. In response, Steve Helm, Lottery Commissioner, confirmed the claim is under review and is also part of a wider external investigation.

This legal action adds to growing criticism of the Texas Lottery Commission, which had previously endorsed courier services as a way to boost ticket sales. In the wake of the scandal, however, the commission's judgment has come under intense scrutiny.

Legislative fallout: the future of Texas Lottery in question

In response to the syndicate scandal and the commission's perceived failure to prevent abuse of the system, state lawmakers have introduced legislation that could reshape or even dismantle the Texas Lottery altogether. Separate bills were recently proposed and approved in both the Texas House and Senate aiming at dissolving the Lottery Commission and initiating a thorough review of the state's lottery operations.

These developments highlight the serious implications of the courier scandal, not just for individual players like the woman now suing the state, but for the future of the lottery in Texas itself. As investigations continue and political pressure increases, the state faces tough questions about how it regulates gaming and protects players - especially those who played by the rules and still walked away empty-handed.