In 2023, gambling expansion gained significant legislative traction. Then, in 2025, that expansionist agenda was wrecked when state lawmakers nearly abolished the Texas Lottery after several scandals were revealed.
Lawmakers disbanded the Texas Lottery Commission and transferred lottery regulation and oversight duties to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Still, some staff from the commission remains in oversight positions.
As previously reported, former Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Gary Grief enticed online resellers, including Lottery.com, to operate illegally in Texas.
Internal communications revealed that Grief also authorized the sale of Texas Lottery tickets to international buyers. Grief abruptly announced his retirement in January 2024.
Following his departure, investigations uncovered additional scandals.
In February 2025, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment of a Russian operative at Lottery.com. He was charged with pulling off a complex securities fraud scheme that inflated revenues, deceived regulators and investors, and ultimately led to millions of dollars in losses.
Also in February 2025, a recording allegedly of a Lottery.com office in Spicewood from April 2023 showed children printing millions of tickets with QR code technology. Representatives from lottery vendor IGT—recently rebranded as Brightstar—were reportedly on the premises to ensure equipment functioning.
Just some kids playing the Texas Lottery, on rigged machines. 🤦♂️
Long rumored video published today in the @nytimes #txlege pic.twitter.com/qjt5A9ybrd
— Daniel Greer (@Daniel_Greer) April 21, 2025
The scheme led to the courier winning a $95 million jackpot. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) suggested this was a “clear case of money laundering.”
Under pressure, Ryan Mindell resigned as Texas Lottery Commission executive director in April 2025. Mindell is now the government relations director at FanDuel, an online sports betting company that offers daily fantasy sports betting in Texas in violation of a 2016 opinion by the attorney general.
Lawmakers have repeatedly declined to expand gambling in Texas, including attempts to legalize online sports betting.
In January 2025, the commission received a 20-page letter and 32 supporting exhibits detailing years of alleged criminal conduct by principals of Lottery.com and Grief. In May 2025, after an initial review of the letter, the commission referred its investigation to the FBI.
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called on the Texas Rangers to investigate the state lottery and the courier companies tied to the $95 million jackpot win. Those investigations are ongoing.
In August 2025, audio surfaced of Greg Potts, chief operating officer of Lottery.com, on a phone call suggesting the company was involved in winning the $95 million jackpot, contradicting his February 2025 testimony to a Texas Senate committee. The audio also suggested the involvement of another online reseller, Lotto.com.
Lawmakers dismantled the Texas Lottery Commission after its scandals came to light. They shifted oversight of lottery operations to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and banned ticket resellers under Senate Bill 3070.
After it left the Senate, that measure was altered with the help of the lottery’s “stakeholders” to protect its operator, IGT. Machines delivered by IGT to four locations were used to rig the $95 million jackpot in 2023.
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