Texas Senate Approves Bill to Abolish Lottery Commission

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate passed a bill on Thursday that aims to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission and relocate the lottery to a different agency. Senate Bill 3070, which received unanimous support, introduces new rules for purchasing lottery tickets and establishes criminal penalties for buying tickets online or in bulk.

The proposed bill would transfer the lottery and charitable bingo operations to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It also sets a two-year review period by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission to evaluate the future of the lottery.

“They have a two-year lease on life — we’ll see what happens under the new agency,” Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick stated during the bill’s passage.

The bill provides a critical path for the lottery’s operation past September, when its agency faces possible elimination. Concurrently, Senate Bill 2402 seeks to maintain the lottery commission but has faced financial challenges due to budget cuts proposed by lawmakers.

Additionally, another House bill, SB 28, seeks to ban lottery couriers, which are online ticket sellers. During discussions, legislators raised concerns about a $95 million lottery jackpot won by a group that printed 99% of ticket combinations in a short timeframe, a tactic known as a “bulk purchase.”

Under SB 3070, anyone buying more than 100 tickets at once would be committing a class B misdemeanor.

Texas Senator Bob Hall highlighted issues within the commission, suggesting that the problems stemmed from actions taken by the commission itself, not external manipulation. “The problems we’ve had are not a result of some very smart people from outside the government figuring out how to beat the system,” Hall remarked.

The bill was a collaborative effort, combining elements from various proposals introduced throughout the session. It prohibits online ticket sales and establishes a new advisory committee for the lottery.

House committee approvals are required for these bills by May 23, as legislators continue to scrutinize the operations of the lottery commission.