A Senate Bill has passed through the Indiana House that will ban lottery couriers from operating in the Hoosier State. However, that prohibition may not be permanent. Rather, the intent of the bill appears to be to establish that couriers aren’t legal until the state decides on a plan for online lottery sales, which may include regulated couriers.
An 82-10 vote in favor of SB94 this week now puts the bill before Gov. Mike Braun to sign into law. The bill will take effect starting July 1 and it states:
The state lottery commission shall not operate or authorize the operation of a lottery courier service. Requires the state lottery commission to adopt rules regarding the bulk purchase of lottery products.
The courier debate hasn’t been much of an issue for Indiana, as none of the established services like Jackpocket, Lotto.com and Jackpot.com operate within the state. This move appears to be more of a safeguard for future discussions on opening up online lottery in the state in the future.
Courier ban could be lifted with iLottery expansion
Despite banning couriers, SB94 looks to be a step toward bringing the state lottery online.
Should the state eventually reach that point, legislators have indicated they will reevaluate their stance on couriers.
At present, there are no legal options to play the Indiana Lottery over the internet. The state is formally banning couriers to prevent unregulated ones from attempting to exploit a loophole to begin operating in the state before it wants them to.
Indiana has already taken a look at adding iLottery in the state during the 2025 legislative session.
House Bill 1432 was introduced in January that would legalize both online lottery, as well as online casinos. However, the bill stalled out in February.
That bill called on the State Lottery Commission to have the authority to regulate couriers. Should a gambling and lottery expansion bill be introduced in future legislative sessions, Indiana could opt for the same option and leave the courier topic up to the Commission.
Courier bans occurring elsewhere in US
Courier bans have picked up steam in recent months with Texas leading the headlines.
Texas has had a long history with the courier industry, including some questionable jackpot victories in the past.
It all came to a head in February when a lawsuit was filed against the Texas Lottery Commission and its former executive director, accusing them of fraud.
Shortly after, TLC Commissioner Clark Smith stepped down following another Texas Lotto jackpot being won by a courier player. That led to the TLC coming out an issuing a ban on all couriers moving forward.
Connecticut also filed a bill in February to ban couriers. SB1235 was unanimously passed by the Connecticut Senate’s General Law Committee, 22-0, last month. It still remains with the Senate as of this writing.
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