The Texas Lottery Commission is again under fire for hiding information from the public.
When asked to verify details surrounding the payout of a $1 million ticket to an anonymous claimant in China, the commission’s staff said that information would need to be requested under the Public Information Act.
Now, the commission is seeking to withhold this information from public disclosure.
According to Texas Lottery watchdog Dawn Nettles, the information requested from the lottery is released to her on a regular basis. “I get the front and back of the tickets and the claim forms all the time.” In fact, she can’t recall ever having a similar request rejected: “It’s standard operating procedure to release it.”
For the past year, the lottery has been caught up in scandal after scandal, a trend that extends to its current and past leadership along with many companies surrounding it. As attention on the lottery and the constellation of shady actors in its orbit has increased, more corruption has emerged.
In June 2023, the Texas Lottery Commission paid out on a $1 million ticket to an anonymous “buyer” from China. That ticket was purchased from a lottery ticket reseller in Waco, Texas linked to Lottery.com—an app that illegally sold Texas lottery tickets into other states and countries.
According to available records, that $1 million payout was made well after the deadline for claiming prizes, which raises legitimate questions about the claim’s veracity and the commission’s adherence to its rules—hence the need for record disclosure.
This latest instance of the lottery hiding the ball comes at a time when the Texas Lottery should be trying to clear its name as often as possible, but instead, it’s opting to obfuscate.
When an agency doesn’t want to disclose information, it can request an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The OAG then has 45 days to respond.
Under Texas’ Public Information Act, agencies and elected officials can exempt certain information from disclosure if they can demonstrate a legal basis for doing so.
At this point, it’s unclear what the Lottery Commission will claim as grounds for withholding information about the $1 million payout. It may cite concerns about the “buyer’s” privacy, or allege that revealing the details would compromise ongoing investigations. However, these claims will likely face intense scrutiny, given the commission’s track record.
The Texas Lottery Commission is currently embroiled in a number of scandals, including a recently “won” $83.5 million jackpot that is currently being withheld from the apparent winner while the agency is investigated by multiple entities, including the Texas Rangers.
Surprising many close observers of the lottery, current Executive Director Ryan Mindell was not fired at a March meeting of the Texas Lottery Commission. The commission’s failure to terminate Mindell came after lawmakers called his leadership lacking during multiple hearings in February and early March.
Lawmakers have been frustrated by Mindell’s evasive answers and squirrelly demeanor on several occasions, including when he feigned ignorance of lottery resellers operating in Texas.
Documents made public during a recent investigation show Mindell was intimately aware of reseller operations. In 2018, Mindell signed a letter to Jackpocket telling the company it did not require a license to operate in Texas. This decision has been heavily criticized, as it facilitated the growth of unregulated online lottery sales within the state.
His retention may be an effort to hold the line or something else entirely, but continued fights against transparency could negatively color the commissioner’s decision. Before taking the reins of the commission, Mindell was the right-hand man to its embattled former leader, Gary Grief.
Grief, who has been accused of orchestrating fraud in a lawsuit linked to a $95 million stolen jackpot, resigned before a wave of controversy came crashing down on the commission. A lawsuit brought by Nettles alleges that Grief and the state’s lottery vendor, IGT, played an active role in defrauding Texas lottery players.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has taken a strong stance on the lottery and its need for reform or abolition. He has publicly criticized the commission’s lack of transparency and called for greater accountability.
The Texas Lottery is up for sunset review during the 2025 legislative session.
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