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New York regulators have moved to ban “bulk buying” of lottery tickets to prevent scandals such as two incidents that lead to changes with the Texas Lottery when an out-of-state syndicate bought nearly all the numerical combinations to win a $95m jackpot.
The proposed regulations would ban any attempt to buy up every mathematical combination of a lottery ticket, prohibit ticket-sales collaboration, mandate lottery sales agents report bulk buying attempts, and suspend an agent’s license if their store or outlet allows bulk purchases.
Commissioners are also set to prohibit additional terminals being provided to lottery terminals on a temporary basis and ban connection of devices to lottery equipment.
The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday (August 25) unanimously approved the proposed new state regulations. The public comment period will begin upon publication of the proposed regulations in the New York Register, which reportedly was expected in October.
“I just want to make it clear that this is really about what happened in Texas,” said NYSGC chairman Bill O’Dwyer. “Members of this commission have raised significant issues regarding the courier issue in the lottery. I don’t want anyone to think what we do here is to be taken as the end result of all those things.”
O’Dwyer stressed that the commission still has “substantial issues” to work through in terms of lottery couriers, but those concerns will be taken up at a future time. He did not offer any specifics as to what their “substantial issues” were with lottery couriers operating within the state.
In New York, lottery courier services are legal but regulated by the gaming commission. Courier services must be licensed to legally operate.
Currently, licensed courier services in New York include Jackpot.com, Jackpocket, Lotto.com, and theLotter.
Courier services must implement responsible gaming measures, including setting default limits on deposits, while state regulations mandate age and location verification, anti-money laundering controls, independent third-party testing, and compliance audits.
Couriers are required to prominently display disclaimers that they are a third-party service, separate from the New York Lottery.
Commission staff noted the new regulations prevent lottery tickets from being sold by any method that is “contrary to the principle that every ticket has an equal and random chance of winning.”
“Bulk purchases, particularly by large investment groups aiming to buy nearly all possible combinations, could undermine the public’s perception of fairness and randomness in the lottery,” said Robert Williams, the NYSGC’s executive director, during Monday’s commission meeting.
The proposed rules, Williams said, will “mitigate the risk of such an attempt and protect the access to jackpot prizes by all purchasers of lottery tickets.”
In the spring of 2023, an out-of-state syndicate bought up every number possible buying 25.8m Texas Lottery tickets for $1 apiece. The incident, which partially involved lottery courier Lottery.com, saw the syndicate win a $95m jackpot.
In a separate incident, a player who used lottery courier service Jackpocket, owned by DraftKings, won an $83.5m jackpot.
Both controversial jackpots brought about efforts to abolish the Texas Lottery, but at the end of the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers extended the life of the lottery but transferred oversight to a new agency.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 3070 abolishing the Texas Lottery Commission and moving supervision of the state-run enterprise to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The new law also bans online lottery ticket sales and blocks lottery couriers from operating in the state.
NYSGC commissioners John Crotty believed the ban on “bulk buying” of lottery tickets in New York was a good start, but he also wanted to hear public comments on the proposal.
“I feel that we have not been fair to our existing vendors and the existing people we are in business with,” Crotty said. “The couriers violated that agreement we had with them where everyone would be on an equal footing. So, this is a step to be helpful.”
Crotty added that he would strongly encourage the commission to “really consider getting rid of couriers as a general matter and stop licensing and stuff.” He said these proposed rules are worth considering.
Rocky Mountain Lottery Couriers
At the same time Crotty was suggesting to his colleagues that they consider banning couriers, the Colorado Division of Gaming issued proposed amendments to rules governing lottery couriers.
The proposed amendments to current lottery regulations would require any retailer seeking to sell lottery products to a courier to obtain approval from the Division of Gaming prior to doing so.
The amendments would also permit the sale of tickets through online or mobile application provided that know-your-customer (KYC) and geolocation software are used to verify the age of the player and their location within the state of Colorado but outside the bounds of federally recognized tribal lands at the time that the ticket is purchased.
The amendments to the state’s Lottery Rules and Regulations (1 CCR 206-1) clarifies that lottery courier services are separate from licensed lottery retailers.
Couriers and retailers must have safeguards to ensure that any lottery ticket purchased by the courier is being tracked, stored, and validated in a secure manner that ensures the customer gets any prize they’re entitled to. Retailers are also prohibited from hiring anyone who is also employed by a courier service.
If approved, Colorado would become the fourth state to regulate lottery couriers after Arkansas, New York, and New Jersey. The Colorado Lottery Commission will discuss the proposed amendments during an October 8 meeting.
See also: U.S. Regulatory Review: Lottery Couriers
