Everything we found in Texas
Texas is the one state in our first group with a statute that names lottery pools, and in 2025 it banned buying tickets by phone or app. Every fact below comes from the Texas Lottery, the Texas Government Code and Constitution, or Senate Bill 3070; each fact shows its source and the day we checked it. Pools can be created in every state that runs a lottery; Texas is open.
Is a private pool legal here?
The Texas Lottery’s FAQ answers yes: “players may play as a group.”
Government Code section 466.3054, “Group Purchase Arrangements,” reads in full:
(a) A person commits an offense if, for financial gain, the person establishes or promotes a group purchase or pooling arrangement under which tickets are purchased on behalf of the group or pool and any prize is divided among the members of the group or pool, and the person intentionally or knowingly: (1) uses any part of the funds solicited or accepted for a purpose other than purchasing tickets on behalf of the group or pool; or (2) retains a share of any prize awarded as compensation for establishing or promoting the group purchase or pooling arrangement.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.
All three parts must be present: the person acts for financial gain, establishes or promotes the pool, and either diverts the money from tickets or keeps a cut of the prize as pay. As we read it (we are not lawyers), an admin who buys exactly the plays the pot paid for and takes only the share their own money earned is not who the statute describes; an admin who skims the pot or takes an extra slice is. ShareTheWinning charges nothing, holds no money, buys no tickets and takes no share of any prize.
Who the lottery pays. Texas pays one claimant; the agreement names who claims and how the pool splits it. The Texas Lottery pays one claimant per ticket, so a group names one person to claim. (Texas Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 5, 2026) The claimant may be a person or a legal entity; a trust, partnership or other entity sends its founding papers to the lottery’s Legal Services Division before claiming. The Texas Lottery does not publish how it handles the IRS form a group uses to split the tax paperwork; ask the lottery directly.
SB 3070 moved the lottery to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, effective June 20, 2025.
Minimum age
18 or older (Lottery game page, checked Oct 1, 2026). Government Code 466.3051 makes underage sales and purchases an offense.
Where tickets are sold
At licensed Texas retailers only. The FAQ: “State laws and regulations do not permit the sale of tickets by mail, phone, or Internet.” The lottery sells no tickets online.
Couriers and apps are banned. Government Code 466.318, in force since June 20, 2025, says a person may not by phone or through an Internet or mobile app “purchase or order the purchase of a ticket for a lottery game,” or, for compensation, take orders or arrange purchases for players. Each is a Class A misdemeanor. A Texas pool buys its tickets in person.
- Powerball multi-draw: Up to 15 drawings per ticket (Texas Lottery Powerball page, checked Oct 4, 2026); mark the “MULTI-DRAW” box.
- Mega Millions multi-draw: Up to 10 drawings per ticket (Texas Lottery Mega Millions page, checked Oct 4, 2026).
- Double Play: not offered in Texas; powerball.com’s Double Play page does not list it.
- Group purchase limits: Texas retailers may not sell one person more than 100 tickets in a single transaction, so a larger pool needs more than one. (Texas Government Code 466.255, checked Oct 5, 2026)
Claim deadlines
180 days after the drawing (Texas Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026) for Powerball and Mega Millions. Government Code 466.408 sets the same window.
Where to claim, per the claim page:
- $599 or less: any retailer, a claim center, or by mail.
- $600 to $5,000: the lottery’s mobile app, a claim center, or by mail.
- Up to $2.5 million: any claim center, or by mail.
- Over $2.5 million up to $5 million: the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston or San Antonio claim center, or by mail.
- Over $5 million, every Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot, and annuity prizes: headquarters in Austin, by appointment.
Can winners stay anonymous?
Only for prizes of $1 million or more: the winner may choose on the claim date to keep identifying information private. City or county of residence may still be released, and a winner paid in installments may be named from the 30th day after the claim. (Texas Government Code 466.411, checked Oct 8, 2026) The rule also covers a person who owns a share of an entity that wins.
Taxes
- State withholding: None: the lottery withholds no state tax (State withholding table, checked Oct 1, 2026). Texas Constitution Article 8, section 24-a: “The legislature may not impose a tax on the net incomes of individuals.”
- Federal: The lottery withholds 24% federal tax when a prize minus the wager is more than $5,000. A prize of $2,000 or more is reported to the IRS on Form W-2G. (IRS Form W-2G instructions, checked Oct 1, 2026)
The split calculator sets Texas’s state rate to zero. See How a pool claims a prize.
Claim offices
Mail: Texas Lottery, ATTN: Austin Claim Center, PO Box 16600, Austin, TX 78761-6600. The Austin claim center is at 1801 Congress Avenue; the lottery lists 16 claim centers, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time. Phone 800-375-6886. Official site: texaslottery.com.
How our pool record helps in Texas
In Texas the record supports whoever claims and the split, and it shows, line by line, that the admin took no cut: the pot, the plays bought, the shares, and each payment confirmed by both sides. At the Texas threshold ($600 by default) the round goes on hold and we preserve an export bundle.
Read You won. The first five things to do.. The “If we win” stop on the Journey shows Texas’s deadline and anonymity rule beside your numbers.
