The Texas Senate has unanimously passed legislation to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission, transferring oversight of the state lottery to a different agency amid mounting concerns of corruption and mismanagement.
Senate Bill 3070, filed by State Sen. Bob Hall and passed 31-0, would move control of the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, institute a number of new safeguards, and prohibit the use of lottery courier services—companies that have illegally sold lottery tickets online. The legislation now heads to the House for consideration.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has been vocal in his effort to shut down the commission, released a video after the vote celebrating the passage and outlining what he called a long-overdue crackdown.
“You remember back in February when I went into this place called Winner’s Corner, when someone won an $83 million jackpot in a courier service, and they wouldn’t let me in the back room to even take a look at what was going on? Well, that began this saga of really discovering the alleged corruption in the Lottery Commission.” said Patrick.
“In 2023, a courier service took orders from one person for 26,000,000 $1 tickets and won a $95 million jackpot—basically stealing money from all Texans, one of the biggest heists ever,” he added.
Patrick said the legislation represents a fundamental shift in how the state lottery will be operated.
“We’ve abolished the Lottery Commission. We’re moving operations of the state lottery to the Department of Licensing and Regulation,” said Patrick. “It bans lottery couriers. All lottery ticket sales must be in person. It limits ticket sales to 100 tickets per transaction. It adds criminal penalties. It establishes a two-year trial period—and we can ban it in two years if the TDLR does not operate it as we instruct them to.”
Patrick added that state leaders, including himself, will now have the power to personally inspect lottery operations.
“It authorizes the governor, myself, and the attorney general, and the speaker as inspectors,” Patrick said. “Now I’ll be a lottery inspector, and I can drop in and go anywhere I want to make sure everything is on the up and up.”
The overhaul comes as the Texas Lottery Commission approaches its sunset date, meaning the agency would cease to exist unless lawmakers take action to continue it. Rather than extend the commission, senators chose to scrap it entirely and hand operations to TDLR on a trial basis. Under the bill, a limited-scope sunset review will be conducted by August 31, 2027. If the program is not reauthorized, the state lottery itself will be abolished.
Patrick also referenced ongoing investigations led by the Texas Rangers, pointing to the alleged disappearance of former Lottery Executive Director Gary Grief as a key concern.
“We’re still looking for someone named Gary Grief, the former executive director, who’s disappeared ever since that winning ticket for $95 million was sold through a courier service,” Patrick said. “If you know where he is, let us know. The Texas Rangers would love to talk to him.”
Grief’s attorney has maintained that his client is not hiding, and has told Texas Scorecard he “will cooperate with the official investigation.”
With Senate Bill 3070 now in the hands of the House, the future of the Texas Lottery is on the line. Lawmakers will soon decide whether to finalize the sweeping reforms—or let the entire system fold.
The legislative session ends on June 2.
