News and opinion writer
The fallout continues to grow from the April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing. As state lawmakers investigate and lawsuits are filed, a shocking new video is making the rounds in the Texas state capitol. Several state lawmakers claim to have seen a video that shows underage children buying and printing some of the twenty-six million tickets purchased by a European gambling syndicate known as Rook TX.
The drawing came under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that Rook TX worked directly with the Texas Lottery Commission to buy out every number combination for the April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing and guarantee a $96 million jackpot.
Child workers
According to the Houston Chronicle, several state lawmakers have seen a video allegedly showing children operating lottery ticket printing machines that Rook TX used to create millions of tickets. Sources who claim to have seen the video, which has not yet been made public, say it shows people who appear to be minors printing tickets from state lottery terminals located in an empty office. Several boxes of official lottery paper can be seen in the background.
It's illegal for anyone under 18 to buy lottery tickets in Texas.
The video was apparently filmed at the Spicewood offices of Lottery.com, one of the courier services that printed millions of tickets for the syndicate. Texas state law requires a valid physical ticket for a lottery entry, and Rook TX only had three days between drawings to buy and print approximately 25 million tickets.
An investigation shows that the syndicate worked with four different lottery ticket courier services to print the vast amounts of tickets they needed.
State investigation
State Senator Bob Hall of Edgewood, Texas, has been vocal in his criticism of the Texas Lottery Commission in legislative hearings. He claims to have seen the video, and while he acknowledges that it has not yet been authenticated, he stated its contents are “beyond concerning.”
He points out that not only should children not operate the machines, but the boiler room setup depicted in the video goes against Texas lottery regulations. Lottery Commission rules clearly state lottery ticket terminals must be available to the public and cannot be used solely for the benefit of one party.
If these terminals were kept in a private office, as shown in the video, that would violate state lottery regulations.
“It's hard to understand what kind of legitimate lottery operation this was,” Hall added.
Houston attorney Manfred Sternberg backed up Hall's remarks. He testified to state lawmakers that Rook TX's operation was “the biggest money laundering scheme in global lottery history.”
Sternberg also claims to have seen the video and described it as “what looks like two kids printing out tickets.”
State Representative Matt Shaheen of Plano grilled Lottery Commission director Ryan Mindell during a recent hearing, asking:
You have little children in the state of Texas buying lottery tickets, apparently, underneath your watch. That's a problem, right?
Class action
A new class action lawsuit filed by Dawn Nettles, the founder of LottoReport.com, on behalf of Texas lottery players could further damage the state lottery.
The Texas Lottery Commission and its former executive director, Gary Greif, are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges they perpetuated a “long-running fraud scheme.” Grief retired abruptly in 2024, shortly after authorities began investigating the Rook TX jackpot win.
Nettles is represented by Manfred Sternberg, who told the Senate Finance Committee panel:
My client believes that this criminal conspiracy started in 2017 when Gary Greif traveled to California to lobby the founders of Lottery.com to relocate their business to Austin. From that moment on, until Mr. Grief's sudden retirement in early 2024, the Lottery Commission and Lottery.com became a combined single criminal entity.
The heart of Nettles's argument is that the Lottery Commission worked with the lottery courier services to disadvantage regular players by providing illegal and unfair support to Rook TX.
New investigation
Even as investigations and lawsuits continue with the Rook TX jackpot, a new and separate potential scandal has emerged after another massive jackpot was claimed in the February 17, 2025, Lotto Texas drawing.
After no winners for nine straight months, the jackpot grew to $83.5 million. The winning ticket was sold at the Winners Corner TX LLC store on Rockwood Lane in North Austin. In 2023, this store paid out $123 million in lottery winnings, five times more than the second-most successful store.
Winners Corner's success is mainly due to the fact that it is owned and operated by Jackpocket, a lottery courier service, which uses the store as a hub to print tickets for its customers.
While no outside investors are suspected of buying tickets, Dan Patrick, the state's Lieutenant Governor, has called for the attorney general to investigate courier services and even visited the store to observe its operations.
Patrick told reporters:
It's time we take a deep look at these courier services and these retail units, especially when they are owned by the same company.
Patrick even said the state lottery could be put out of business if serious reforms are not enacted.
End game
While it's not yet clear how the Texas State Lottery will change, the commission is under significant pressure from lawmakers, reporters, and private citizens to initiate major reforms, particularly concerning the operations of lottery courier services.
With the new revelation that children may have illegally worked to print tickets for Rook TX, it is likely that calls will only grow for the lottery commission to show some kind of meaningful reform to ensure fairness and integrity for every player, whether they buy one ticket or one million.
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