While efforts to completely kill the state lottery failed, the Texas Legislature abolished the Texas Lottery Commission, moved game operations to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and further tweaked some rules to the game.
Senate Bill 3070 also directed the Sunset Advisory Commission to conduct a limited-scope review during the state fiscal biennium ending Aug. 31, 2029. The review will look at whether TDLR has “the sufficient tools, programs, and procedures to ensure the integrity of the state lottery program” and whether “the department remains the appropriate agency to administer the state lottery program.”
Texas Lottery is a major source of funding for public education and veterans’ support programs, but it’s courted controversy since its establishment in 1991.
“When operated as intended, lotteries disproportionately burden low-income Texans, who spend a higher share of their income on false hopes,” Rep. Brent Money said at a May 25 House of Representatives meeting.
One notable change under SB 3070 is that the state now prohibits “a person playing or facilitating the play of a lottery game by telephone or through an Internet application or a mobile Internet application.” This was in response to two high-profile jackpot wins opponents say demonstrated the Texas Lottery Commission’s lack of effective oversight.
“When operated as intended, lotteries disproportionately burden low-income Texans.” – Rep. Brent Money
Now someone can only buy a lottery ticket in person, at a location of a licensed sales agency, and during the normal business hours of the licensed sales agency. The banning of online lottery couriers – third-party companies that give purchasers the opportunity to buy a lottery ticket without going to a physical location – had been a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Austin-based Rep. John Bucy III mounted a defense of the practice, to no avail.
“By giving Texans the freedom to participate in the lottery through couriers, we could provide services like personal deposit and spending limits, responsible gaming resources, and other security measures that are better for consumers,” Bucy said at the May 25 House of Representatives meeting. “With proper regulation, lottery couriers can be safer and more reliable than traditional brick-and-mortar stores, and we could provide more resources to Texans who need help with addiction to gambling.”
Other amendments to the bill were more successful, including fleshing out the investigative resources the TDLR will have to thwart illegal sales.
Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) said that his intention was to “put guardrails around the operation of the lottery at the TDLR while ensuring its continued operation without disruption.”
“Let me be clear about this: The lottery provides about $2 billion per year for public education and about $27 million per year for veterans.”
This article appears in August 22 • 2025.