I hope Elon and DOGE scrutinize the Department od Education and see where all the lottery finds really go. Every state with lotteries always say the lottery helps fund public schools….yeah right.
Trace all the dollars state by state and see where the lottery money really goes.
Then de-fund the Department of Education and stop taxing the lottery.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/353713
Texas Senator threatens to defund the Texas Lottery
Mar 1, 2025, 7:20 am (48 comments)
Legislator wants to shut down Texas Lottery if they don't comply
By Kate Northrop
A Texas State Senator threatened to shut down the Texas Lottery if they were not to enforce a Senate bill prohibiting lottery couriers in the state.
Senator Bob Hall has made it clear that he would choose to defund the Texas Lottery should they violate a potential state law banning lottery courier companies.
Hall has consistently delivered scathing criticisms of the Texas Lottery since a purchasing group based in New Jersey "bought" a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot in April 2023 with the help of lottery courier companies, with one of his most provocative claims being the supposed existence of a "crime syndicate inside the Texas Lottery."
During the Senate Committee on State Affairs meeting this week, the Senate passed SB28 by a vote of 31-0, which would make it a criminal offense to play the lottery or facilitate playing the lottery by phone or through the Internet.
SB28 outlines several scenarios that would effectively become illegal: purchasing lottery tickets through a mobile or Internet application, accepting a ticket order or selling tickets over the Internet, or arranging to purchase a ticket on behalf of a person playing the lottery. These limitations were largely created with banning lottery couriers in mind.
The Texas Lottery Commission has already declared its stance against lottery couriers, since it announced a new policy banning courier services on Monday, but this bill would go a step beyond Lottery Commission policy by making couriers illegal under state law.
In other words, violating the Lottery's policy in its current state could merely mean a retailer jeopardizing their license. However, the bill criminalizes the behavior, something that the Lottery does not have the authority to do. Those who do break the law would face legal repercussions of fines and possible prison time for up to one year.
The Texas Lottery would be required to enforce the law if it passes. If it doesn't, Hall warned, it should be shut down.
"In Section 1 of your bill, the Lottery Commission is mandated… to adopt rules to enforce the prohibitions against facilitating the play of the lottery through courier apps," Senator Angela Paxton addressed Hall. "Would you please speak to what would happen if the Lottery Commission does not adopt such rules?"
"We would just zero out their budget," Hall responded. "It's real easy for them. If all they did was just revert back to the law as it was passed, they [lottery couriers] would go away."
"Zeroing" out the Lottery's budget would basically mean an operational shutdown, a death sentence for a state lottery in Texas. There would be no funding to support the Lottery's operations, including prize payouts, facilities, staff, marketing, and its main product — lottery tickets. The state could potentially lose out on approximately $2 billion annually, a majority of which goes to the Foundation School Fund.
Hall also argued in his opening remarks that the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees the Powerball multi-state draw game, had adopted rules under previous leadership that made it easier for Texas to become more lenient toward lottery couriers over time. It was, he reasoned, a valid reason to consider ending Powerball in Texas.
"The Texas Legislature voted to join the Multi-State Lottery Association to sell games like Powerball, but our state's participation in membership should be reconsidered," Hall said.
However, Lottery Executive Director Ryan Mindell made it clear that the Lottery Commission has no intention of veering from the path Legislature lays out for it, and that the agency would adjust its policies to abide by the current law.
"I plan to bring to the board next Tuesday rulemaking that will make it clear that any retailer that works with a lottery ticket courier — we will take action against your license," Mindell affirmed.
Hall had previously attempted to ban lottery couriers in the past. His Senate Bill 1820 for the 2023-2024 Texas Legislative Session passed unanimously in the Senate but later died in the House.
With the latest version of the bill unanimously succeeding in the Senate once more, SB28 now faces the House as its predecessor did before.