Won 120 billion lottery, but the lottery commission says "Not a penny will be given". What happened?

[Financial News] A woman in the United States won a lottery worth about 114 billion won in Texas, but has not received the prize for four months and has filed a lawsuit.

According to NBC News on the 26th (local time), a woman living in Montgomery County, Texas, filed a lawsuit against the Texas Lottery Commission on the 19th.

The woman purchased the lottery through an online agency called 'Jackpocket' on February 17, but after the winner announcement, the agency purchase was suddenly banned, and the prize payment was denied retroactively.

In Texas, there are no separate regulations for such lottery agency services, and these agencies operated by receiving customer orders by phone or online, purchasing lottery tickets from authorized lottery retailers, and charging a fee.

The woman's lottery ticket was purchased at the authorized lottery retailer 'Winner's Corner' in Austin and won 83.5 million dollars (114 billion won) in the draw that night.

However, a week later, the Texas Lottery Commission announced a sudden 'total ban' on lottery agency services.

At that time, former Secretary Ryan Mindel of the Lottery Commission stated, "The proliferation of lottery agency services raises concerns about the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of the lottery."

The woman argued in the lawsuit, "The Lottery Commission cannot change the rules after the draw. They are trying to deny the prize payment with a retroactive ban."

She continued, "I presented the winning lottery ticket to the Lottery Commission on March 18, and was not informed by the Commission that the ticket was 'invalid'."

In response, a spokesperson for the Texas Lottery Commission said, "The case is under review according to the Commission's prize verification process and is subject to external investigation. We cannot comment on ongoing lawsuits and investigations."

Meanwhile, according to a report released by the Texas House of Representatives in November last year, only three states in the United States regulate lottery agency services: New York, New Jersey, and Arkansas.

moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter