The Texas Senator who has argued vehemently that the state should abolish lottery gaming has pitched a new idea that would allow the gaming vertical to stay alive.
Sen. Bob Hall testified before the Committee on State Affairs last week that, “there is no way to reorganize, restructure or restore the integrity of the government-run Texas Lottery,” and that the only appropriate course of action was to abolish the state lottery, as outlined in his Senate Bill 1988.
However, after that bill was left pending in committee after that session, he introduced another proposal on Monday that he told the committee is the next best thing.
Senate Bill 3070 would allow lottery games to continue but would dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission and bring all lottery and charitable bingo under the oversight of the Department of Licensing and Regulation. It would establish a lottery advisory committee to support this change.
So, while both bills would abolish the Lottery Commission, SB 3070 would not go as far as SB 1988 would by ending lottery games altogether.
The Texas House removed the Commission’s budget for the next two years from the state’s budget proposal, something which SB 3070 could circumvent by placing lottery oversight under a different entity. The Commission is currently under a routine review by the Sunset Commission, which state agencies undergo every 12 years. Some form of legislative action is required for the Commission to continue operating.
Many bills, many suggestions
Hall also rolls into SB 3070 several provisions from multiple other bills with the broad aim of increasing oversight of the games and creating new criminal penalties for online play and mass purchases of tickets.
Notably, it would include a total ban on lottery couriers and online ticket sales with criminal penalties, which is the same as Hall proposed in yet another bill, SB 28, which unanimously passed on the floor in February. SB 3070 would also ban customers from buying more than 100 lottery tickets in a single purchase, prohibit people from buying tickets by telephone and limit the total number of ticket-printing lottery terminals licensed retailers can have. These are similar to restrictions included in yet more Senate bills.
The bans on couriers and mass purchasing are particularly notable in the context of two huge jackpot wins in the last couple of years which have added fuel to the conversation around the Texas Lottery’s future. In 2023, in which a group of individuals spent $25 million to purchase 99% of ticket combinations and won a $95 million jackpot. Earlier this year, a woman won $83.5 million on a ticket she purchased using courier service Jackpocket.
“If there isn’t enough of an appetite to get rid of the lottery outright, then this bill represents the next best thing,” Hall said during a State Affairs hearing on Monday.
Hall has amendments locked and loaded
However, while this bill would seem a somewhat softer stance, Hall listed four amendments he intends to file if and when the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Those would increase criminal penalties for illegal ticket sales, only allowing individuals to cash winning tickets and creating further restrictions on where tickets can be bought.
It would also empower senior figures like the governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Attorney General to physically inspect licensed lottery retail stores, something Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took it upon himself to do (and to share via social media) earlier this year.
Texas’ legislative session ends June 2.
SBC Editor-At-Large Ted Menmuir, SBC News Editor Ted Orme-Claye, and SBC Americas Senior Journalist Tom Nightingale discussed everything that is going on with the Texas Lottery on the latest episode of iGaming Daily.
