Jackpot Winner, a Retired Lady, Ends Up Empty-Handed with €72 Million Fortune
In the world of lotteries, two significant wins made headlines in 2025. A retiree from Upper Bavaria pocketed 5.28 million euros on July 15, 2025, and an 83-year-old woman from Texas walked away with a staggering 83.5 million dollars on February 17, 2025. However, the road to claiming these prizes has not been smooth for all winners.
The winning ticket of the Upper Bavarian retiree was purchased online through the service Jackpocket, while Jane Doe from Texas bought her ticket traditionally. The lack of regulations for lottery ticket delivery services, also known as lottery couriers, in Texas has been a contentious issue.
Prior to recent legislation, lottery couriers were third-party companies that could buy and deliver tickets on behalf of customers. This setup allowed for bulk purchases, as seen in a 2023 Lotto Texas game, where a syndicate bought a significant portion of possible combinations, winning a $95 million jackpot.
In response to these issues, SB 3070 was passed, banning lottery ticket courier services and prohibiting the purchase of more than 100 tickets at a time. The new regulations aim to ensure fairness and transparency for all lottery participants, with enhanced security measures and annual audits designed to protect the integrity of the lottery system.
The retiree from Upper Bavaria won playing Spiel 77 and regularly plays Lotto 6aus49 or Eurojackpot. Jane Doe, on the other hand, is embroiled in a legal battle with the lottery company, claiming that the commission cannot change the rules after the drawing and is trying to deny payment of her winnings through a retroactive ban. As of the article's date, the woman has not received any of her winnings.
Meanwhile, the commission is reviewing the retiree's claim to their winnings and the case is subject to external investigations. Ryan Mindell, the former CEO of the Texas Lottery, resigned during an ongoing investigation related to the use of unregulated delivery services.
The odds of winning were 1 in 10 million for the Upper Bavarian retiree, and they did not mention any issues with the lottery commission regarding the validity of their ticket. The new regulations aim to create a more equitable environment for all players, making it more accessible for individual players to win prizes and ensuring a more secure and transparent process.
- Despite the new regulations prohibiting lottery ticket courier services and limiting the number of tickets that can be purchased at a time, Jane Doe from Texas is still embroiled in a legal battle with the lottery company over their claim that the commission cannot change the rules after the drawing and is trying to deny payment of her winnings through a retroactive ban.
- The new regulations in the world of casino-and-gambling and lotteries aim to create a more equitable environment for all players by making it more accessible for individual players to win big-wins like the one the Upper Bavarian retiree received, while ensuring a more secure and transparent process, such as enhanced security measures and annual audits, designed to protect the integrity of the lottery system.
