Idaho Lottery alerts retailers to possible bulk buying attempt over $877,800 Idaho Cash jackpot
No evidence of couriers involved
By Kate Northrop
When an Idaho Cash lottery jackpot jumped up $126,000 overnight to $877,800 and was subsequently won, the Idaho Lottery had a suspicion a bulk buyer was at play.
On Tuesday, Sept 30, the Idaho Lottery witnessed their Idaho Cash draw game jackpot reach a record level of $877,800, the highest prize the in-state draw game has ever seen. Based on sales figures, familiar signs from other similar recent activity, and reports from local Idaho Lottery retailers, there may have been a bulk ticket buyer at work.
Lottery couriers have been the hot topic of the gaming industry as of late, with a recent $95 million Texas Lottery jackpot buyout and subsequent political fallout triggering other states to propose rules and regulations to regulate couriers, ban them outright, or instead focus on mitigating bulk buyer behavior. Couriers were targeted by Texas Legislation after lawmakers erroneously promoted them as the root cause for a jackpot buyout.
None of the sales data for the Idaho Cash draw, however, implies that a courier was at all involved. In fact, there is evidence from the Idaho Lottery to suggest that whoever had caused sales to spike had opted to visit physical retail locations in person to buy a large quantity of tickets, and that there may have been multiple individuals at work in a coordinated operation.
Bulk ticket buyers — people who buy all possible combinations of tickets to guarantee a jackpot win — typically make arrangements with companies operating lottery courier services, because the couriers usually maintain the number of lottery machines necessary to print the many thousands of tickets needed.
In a memo that was sent out to retailers after the jackpot was hit, Idaho Lottery Director of Lottery Security Tony Pittz said there were reports of individuals they believe "were part of an organized effort going to retail locations in an attempt to make abnormally large purchases of tickets."
"It was reported some of these individuals were pushy and argumentative when told by retail staff they did not have the capacity to fill the ticket order," Pittz continued in his letter to retailers. "Consequently, the Lottery had retailers questioning whether they were required to sell the requested tickets or if they would be risking their Lottery certificate by refusing."
For reference, state rules and regulations say that retailers are obligated to sell tickets during all hours of operation, but the Lottery has the authority to make prevailing interpretations of that rule.
"The Lottery agrees every effort should be made to sell any ticket requested, provided it is in inventory at the location," Pittz clarified. "However, sales are not intended to disrupt the retailer's normal course of business. If fulfilling any order would cause the retailer undue hardship, the sale may be declined with no consequences from the Lottery."
As they would with any non-lottery customer, retailers are also allowed to refuse service to those they believe are "ill-mannered" according to their own business practices.
There were also no communications records, email or otherwise, between the Idaho Lottery and a potential bulk buyer leading up to the event, the Idaho Lottery informed Lottery Post. It means that the Lottery had no knowledge leading up to the draw that a jackpot buyout attempt would be taking place.
While the Idaho Lottery did not have public records available that would confirm how many unique number combinations were sold for the drawing, one more bit of evidence to suggest a bulk buyout event can be gleamed from sales data.
The top selling retailer in the drawing was KJ's at East 50th Street in Malad City, which sold $96,014 for the Idaho Cash drawing on Sept. 30. The second-most selling retailer for the draw was CJ's Travel Stop on South 2000 East in Malad City, a little over ten minutes down the road from the first. That retailer sold $30,514 for the drawing.
Considering the Lottery received reports of multiple individuals acting at various retail locations, plus the unusually high sales numbers at the drawing's top-selling retailer, it's likely that this is where much of the suspected bulk buying activity would have taken place.
However, the Idaho Lottery cannot reveal the name and address of a retailer that sold a winning ticket until the prize is claimed, nor will they notify a retailer who sold a jackpot winning ticket prior to the ticket being validated.
In closing the memo, Pittz made clear that the Lottery will support retailers in their network by allowing them to conduct business and accept customers according to their day-to-day procedures, but it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure they are stocked with the "adequate resources" to complete ticket orders prior to accepting them, such as paper stock and employees.
At the same time, the Lottery will "make no additional accommodations to facilitate these bulk purchasers." That could mean either supplying additional terminals to individuals who the Lottery believes are about to attempt a bulk purchase, should the Lottery become aware of one in advance of a drawing.
The winning numbers in the Idaho Cash drawing on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, were 8, 10, 14, 15, and 35.
At this time, the winner of the $877,800 Idaho Cash jackpot has not come forward with the winning ticket, the Lottery told Lottery Post. Details of an unclaimed prize are not considered public information and are exempt from disclosure for Idaho Lottery security purposes.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/356437