Texas Lottery Settles $83.5M Jackpot Dispute Paying Winner $46M

Kristen Moriarty, a Houston-area mother of two, finally secured her $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot after months of legal battles and political controversy involving the Texas Lottery Commission. She purchased her winning ticket through Jackpocket, an online lottery courier service, just as lawmakers were scrutinizing and criminalizing courier operations due to a prior scandal where a group used couriers to buy nearly every ticket combination to guarantee a jackpot win. Despite initially being denied her prize amid investigations led by the Texas Department of Public Safety and Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, Moriarty sued the commission and reached a settlement to receive nearly $46 million in a lump sum, with a portion withheld for taxes. The controversy contributed to the abolishment of the Texas Lottery Commission, with lottery oversight transferring to the Texas Department of Regulation and Licensing as of September 1. Throughout the ordeal, Moriarty expressed frustration over the political entanglements affecting her winnings, emphasizing that her case involved a typical lottery purchase rather than a bulk ticket scheme. The settlement resolves a saga that highlighted regulatory gaps around courier services and lottery operations in Texas.