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This story has three protagonists: the Lottery of Texas, the Jackpocket app, and a woman named Jane Doe.
Now and then we may have heard about some issues with prizes
, but imagine the situation of you buying a lottery ticket on this app, known for online purchases related to gambling, and winning the prize. This moment should be one of the happiest moments of your life, right? Well, it wasn’t for Jane Doe, the winner of $83.5 million.
The Lottery Commission of Texas refused to pay her the money because of some concerns on apps regulation like Jackpocket. This has become a legal claim and some concerns have aroused about state lotteries and digital platforms. So, let’s find out more about this case.
Texas and a $83.5 million lottery prize
One day, in Texas, a 83 years old woman hit the jackpot in the
Lotto Texas
on the 17th of February of 2025. We are more used to using technology in our daily life, so this is what Jane Doe, the woman, did and she bought the lottery ticket on an app called Jackpocket.
Everything seemed to be fine, she was waiting to receive her $83.5 million prize, but it turned into a legal claim from Jane to the Texas state.
Rules changing
A week after the draw, the Lottery Commission of Texas announced a new policy: from that moment, every third-party app was banned to buy lottery tickets. The reason behind this decision was that these apps lack proper regulation, and there are risks related to commissions, supervision and tickets management. So, Texas decided to be free of this problem and prohibit the use of these apps.
Prize rejected
Jane was told the way she bought the ticket – through the Jackpocket app – isn’t valid now, and the Lottery Commission of Texas denied her the prize she won, although Jane won the lottery prize, a big one, before this new rule was implemented.
According to Jane’s lawyers, her participation is completely valid and meets the current standards. However, it seems the state of Texas is retroactively applying the new rule, as if it was valid when Jane bought her ticket. So, this was the beginning of a legal conflict.
Lawsuit against the Lottery Commission
Of course, Jane Doe wasn’t going to accept this situation because she was sure the Lottery Commission was being unfair with her. So, she decided to file a legal claim on the 19th of May of 2025. Here, her lawyers stated that the state of Texas can’t change the rules after someone wins a prize and use them as a reason to avoid paying a legitimate prize. What’s more, they argue the prize denied is unfair and probably illegal.
Future of the case
The case is still in process and it’s expected to last several months before having the resolution. In the meantime, Jane is in a kind of legal limbo with no access to the money she won – let’s remember it was $83.5 million, we are not talking about $100.
This case started a debate on the use of apps like Jackpocket, and whether the state lottery is adapting in an accurate way to the new ways of participating. Let’s have in mind we live in a digital era, so more people will make use of these apps because it’s more comfortable. I mean, most people use apps to order food, do groceries, why not buy a lottery ticket to have the chance of winning some money? We’ll see what happens to Jane’s prize, but do you think the Lottery Commission of Texas is right?
