Published on: February 24, 2026, 02:44h.
Updated on: February 24, 2026, 02:58h.
- Out-of-state group invested $1M to secure $1.6M
- Record Idaho Cash jackpot linked to mass ticket purchasing
- Legislators aim to ban bulk lottery ticket acquisitions
Last year, an out-of-state lottery group exploited the Idaho lottery for $1.6 million by purchasing almost every potential number combination, as revealed by a state legislator who introduced a bill to ensure this doesn’t occur again.
According to State Senator Jim Guthrie (R-28th Dist), the syndicate invested just over a million dollars on tickets over a two-week period to secure $1.6 million, depriving regular Idaho residents of a fair opportunity to win prizes.
The Idaho Senate has since forwarded a bill to Governor Brad Little (R) aimed at prohibiting what is characterized as “bulk purchase transactions” for Idaho Lottery tickets.
Focus on the September 30 Draw
Details regarding the syndicate’s victory and their methods have remained undisclosed until now. The Idaho Lottery only acknowledged that the largest “Idaho Cash” jackpot ever was claimed by an “out-of-state syndicate,” known as Mudspell Pizza, LLC.
The jackpot from the Idaho Cash draw on September 30, 2025, amounted to $877,800 for the winner. Despite not aligning precisely with the $1.6 million figure, it is likely the jackpot referenced by the senator.
Given that a syndicate covering nearly all potential combinations would also capture almost all secondary prizes, this remains a significant point.
Furthermore, reports at that time indicated that the Idaho Lottery had alerted retailers about the likelihood of bulk ticket purchases as the Idaho Cash jackpot surged to unprecedented levels, hinting at a rise in ticket sales or unusual buying behavior.
Insights into Lottery Syndicate Operations
Lottery syndicates strategically monitor what they perceive as advantageous opportunities—rare intervals when odds favor them.
In essence: wait for a game with fewer possible combinations, allow the jackpot to grow above its statistical average, then invest sufficiently to cover most or all outcomes.
The Idaho Cash draw game is fundamentally straightforward: players select five numbers from 1 to 45, resulting in just 1,221,759 potential combinations. This number is minor compared to multi-state games like Powerball or Mega Millions. At a cost of a dollar per play, comprehensive coverage of the game would be slightly over $1.2 million.
This relatively low ceiling renders Idaho Cash exceptionally susceptible to capital-backed syndicates as the jackpot rises. This is exactly what transpired in September 2025 when the jackpot reached its all-time high.
Texas Lottery Controversy: Similar Tactics
This scenario parallels a controversy involving the Texas Lottery, where a European syndicate managed to acquire approximately 25.8 million tickets through lottery courier services to win a $95 million jackpot, along with substantial secondary prizes.
Lottery courier services are authorized platforms, legal in Idaho, allowing users to select numbers and order tickets via an app. The courier fulfills the request by procuring tickets from licensed retailers or by printing tickets themselves under license. In Texas, couriers were relentlessly printing tickets to meet demand.
The scandal ignited a political upheaval in Texas, culminating in the disbanding of the Texas Lottery Commission and an outright ban on lottery couriers.
The operation was largely attributed to a syndicate linked to the founders of London-based parimutuel betting company Colossus Bets and Malta-based software provider Spinola Gaming. There is currently no evidence suggesting this syndicate had any connection to the one involved with the Idaho Lottery.
Casino.org has reached out to both the Idaho Lottery and the Idaho Secretary of State for additional insights regarding the identity of those behind Mudspell Pizza, LLC.