$134 million lottery winner may never be paid due to a technicality

A woman with a winning $134 million lottery ticket may never get her payout because of a technicality, sparking an investigation.

A Texas woman with a winning $A134 million lottery ticket may never get her mega payout because officials are investigating the app she used.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, bought $A32 worth of Texas Lotto tickets for the February 17 drawing on the app Jackpocket — a lottery courier service that politicians in the US state are now trying to ban, the New York Post reports.

A Texas woman with a winning $AUD134 million lottery ticket may never get her mega payout. Picture: AFP

“I’m being treated as the bad guy,” the woman told Nexstar.

The app and other similar courier services — which buy lottery tickets on people’s behalf for a service fee — are facing intense backlash from Texas politicians, many of whom feel they are operating illegally under current state law.

The Texas Senate passed a bill in February that would ban courier services, and the measure is now headed to the Texas House.

Jackpocket has since stopped operating in Texas – but didn’t do so until several weeks after the woman’s winning ticket was bought.

The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) said in a statement that lottery courier services are illegal in Texas only after the woman’s win.

However, Jackpocket said its app has been operating in compliance with the TLC since 2019.

The back-and-forth prompted Governor Greg Abbott to order Texas Rangers to investigate the woman’s win.

They are also investigating the 2023 win of a $95 million jackpot that was won by a group that purchased over $A40 million worth of tickets, ensuring they bought almost every combination of numbers.

The app and other similar courier services are facing intense backlash from Texas politicians. Picture: Supplied

The mystery female winner said that her case is very different, given that she fairly paid $A32 to play rather than the millions spent by the 2023 group.

“Sometimes there are reasons to investigate things, but I don’t think mine is one of them,” the woman said.

Her lawyer, Randy Howry, said she is the rightful winner of the February 17 drawing and deserves to receive her prize.

“We played by all the rules, and we’re still playing by all the rules and we expect that my client should be paid,” Mr Howry said.

The woman, who presented her winning ticket to the TLC on March 18, has not received her earnings — even though the commission typically pays out the winnings within three days.

The TLC said it would not decide on paying out until the investigation is complete.

“How unfair would it be if she’s not paid her winnings?” the woman’s lawyer said.

“Is that going to give confidence to those other people out there who want to play the Texas lottery?”

Jackpocket is available only in 19 states across the country – including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Montana, Maine, Ohio and Idaho.

The woman who presented her winning ticket to the TLC on March 18 is yet to receive her earnings. Picture: AFP

The app allows customers to order tickets through their phone, which dispatches a courier who goes to a store and buys the ticket. The courier then sends the customer a scan of their tickets and holds onto them until the drawing.

Since its founding in 2013, Jackpocket has sold millions of dollars worth of lottery tickets – including selling more than 10 per cent of the tickets across five states during the April 2024 billion-dollar Powerball drawing, according to the company.

During the six years it operated in Texas, more than $A873 million worth of lottery tickets were bought there using Jackpocket, Jackpocket owner Draftkings told Fox 7 Austin in February.

In January, an Arizona woman won $A178 million using Jackpocket, while others have racked up millions in prizes across the country.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission