A group of gamblers won US$95 million in the Texas lottery by buying all the tickets.

In April 2023, a group of bettors reached a conclusion that seemed obvious on paper: if the Texas Lotto had 25,8 million possible combinations and the accumulated prize had reached US$95 million (approximately R$490 million), all they had to do was buy all the combinations to guarantee a return. The total cost would be approximately US$26 million, about R$133 million. The profit, at least in theory, was assured.

The operation was carried out in Austin. According to a report by Globo.com/Época, the group acquired approximately 25,8 million Lotto Texas tickets, covering virtually all possible combinations of the game, which requires matching six numbers. The mathematical logic was sound: with the accumulated prize well above the purchase cost, the strategy made the investment financially advantageous even given the impossibility of covering 100% of the combinations with accuracy.

The logistics behind the tickets

Executing the plan, however, required much more than calculations. In just a few days, the group needed to print millions of tickets at authorized establishments, representing a large-scale logistical operation. The group won and opted to receive the prize in a single payment: they received US$57,8 million, approximately R$296 million, before deducting the US$26 million invested in purchasing the tickets and other operational costs.

The victory, however, opened up a series of questions. Subsequent investigations indicated that people with ties to the Texas lottery system had provided additional terminals to the group to speed up ticket issuance. The episode led to an investigation into the level of knowledge that Texas Lottery Commission employees and suppliers had regarding the operation.

Rules changed, committee restructured.

At the time, the mass purchase of tickets was not expressly prohibited by the rules of the game, which complicated any attempt at immediate legal challenge. Even so, the repercussions of the case triggered a series of investigations and motivated regulatory changes to prevent similar operations from recurring.

The impact went beyond the rules of the game. The episode contributed to a broad restructuring of the state lottery system: the functions of the Texas Lottery Commission were transferred to another Texas government agency. The April 2023 operation therefore left a regulatory gap exposed and a revamped institutional structure in response.