Lottery winner lands huge £65m jackpot prize - but she doesn't receive a penny
A furious lottery winner has launched a lawsuit against a jackpot commission after she claims her £65m prize had been left unpaid for three months.
The woman, from Texas, filed the legal action in Montgomery County on May 19 after she bought a lottery ticket on February 17 for the "Lotto Texas" game using a third-party carrier app, Jackpocket.
According to the lawsuit, the woman purchased her winning £65 million ticket via the app, which was legal at the time. However, just a week after her win, the lottery commission banned the courier service over its legality.
The lottery winner, only identified in the case as "Jane Doe", had verified her win on March 18, but the Texas Lottery Commission has withheld payments. The lawsuit alleges they are retrospectively applying new rules to invalidate her win, which she claims is illegal.
The unhappy woman previously said: "I've gone through frustration and being sad and stressed, and now I'm just angry. I literally spent $20. I didn't spend $26 million to run every single possible combination of numbers."
"Every Texan knows what that should mean when it comes to the lottery – if you win, you should get paid," the suit says. "It shouldn't take a lawsuit to get paid when you win the lottery. But that's exactly what has happened here.'
It comes as the Lottery Commission's recent ban on third-party services has led to several investigations and resignations.
In April, the commission voted to prohibit couriers from selling tickets online following several high-profile incidents, including a £70.33 million jackpot win in 2023 involving bulk ticket purchases through a courier and this latest £65million win.
The concern over using apps such as Jackpocket to purchase lottery tickets online through licensed retailers has sparked investigations about potential misuse.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced authorities would be investigating the woman's winning ticket.
"Texans must be able to trust in our state's lottery system and know that the lottery is conducted with integrity and lawfully," the governor said in a statement in February.
Texas Lottery executive director Ryan Mindell resigned in April following serious concerns of courier services.
"The proliferation of couriers in the state has raised serious concerns that the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of lottery games is being undermined by the continued activity of courier services," he said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the commission said the lawsuit is 'being reviewed under the Commission's claim validation requirements and is the subject of external investigation.
"The agency does not have additional information to provide, as it does not comment on pending litigation and investigations," the spokesperson added.
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