Hundreds of Texas lottery players sued GTECH Corporation, (n/k/a IGT Global Solutions Corporation), the operator of the Texas Lottery, for fraud. GTECH’s representations led the players to believe that if their Fun 5’s scratch-off ticket revealed a Money Bag symbol, they would win five times the amount shown in the Prize Box. In fact, GTECH designed the game in such a way that many tickets with a Money Bag symbol were not winners.
The lawsuit, James Steele, et al. vs. GTECH Corporation is pending in the 201st Judicial Court in Travis County, Tx. GTECH filed a motion for summary judgment and asked the court to block the players from recovering on one of their legal theories.
The Honorable Amy Clark Meachum denied GTECH’s motion for summary judgment yesterday. Judge Meachum also notified the parties that the first bellwether trial in her court would be postponed until sometime after July 1st due to court backlogs caused by the pandemic.
We will keep you informed once a new trial setting is announced by the court. A copy of Judge Meachum’s letter can be viewed below: