The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill on Thursday to ban courier services from helping customers buy lottery tickets. The move follows a controversial $83 million jackpot award. State Sen. Bob Hall,

Unanimous passage in the Senate comes after top Texas officials say the third-party services undermine trust in the lottery.

But the present controversy over so-called lottery couriers appears to have struck a deeper chord because it raises questions over whether ordinary players have a fair shot at winning, and because the Legislature had largely been kept into the dark about the intricacies of courier companies' business practices.