The Texas Lottery Commission is set to be abolished, with lottery management moving to the Department of Licensing and Regulation after lawmakers lost faith in the agency that’s overseen the lottery since shortly after its inception.
The commission, which has been in existence since 1991, has come under scrutiny over the past months after revelations of rigged jackpots, potential money laundering, and collusion between government agency employees and vendors to game the lottery for profit. The state lottery is currently the subject of multiple state and federal investigations.
Shortly after the release of “Exposed” in January and following years of outcry from watchdogs, the cloud of scandals caught Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s attention. After an $83.5 million winning ticket was printed by an online lottery ticket reseller, Patrick made a surprise visit to the reseller’s location. He was initially denied but subsequently granted access when he tried to see where ticket printing was taking place. What he saw, but was not allowed to film, was a warehouse filled with machines churning out tickets.
State senators followed Patrick’s lead and subjected commission staff—namely now-former Executive Director Ryan Mindell—to harrowing lines of questioning in multiple hearings.
What started as a narrowly scoped agenda to rein in sellers escalated into potential abolition of the lottery. Eventually, with State Sen. Bob Hall’s (R–Edgewood) leadership, the senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 3070, which abolishes the commission, moves lottery operations to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, more strictly regulates how tickets are purchased, and sets an abbreviated sunset review, among other useful reforms.
As originally written, Hall’s proposal would have given the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House, attorney general, and governor the ability to act as inspectors of lottery operations.
The House, under IGT lobbyist Louis Saenz’s watchful eye, passed a version of the measure that protected IGT’s contract with the state and stripped the inspector provision.
State Rep. Charlie Geren’s (R–Fort Worth) 11th-hour, 58-page amendment—according to Geren’s own admission—was drafted alongside the lottery’s “stakeholders,” a euphemism for vendors.
Among the alterations were changes that would allow current Lottery Commission employees to transfer to TDLR. This appears to include those who have been complicit in the extra-legislative expansion of gambling in the State of Texas and who have covered for the lottery’s multiple sins.
Now that the lottery is moving to TDLR, watchdogs are gearing up for the next chapter in accountability.
“The Texas Lottery has lost the trust of players,” said Dawn Nettles, a longtime Texas Lottery watchdog, journalist, and purveyor of LottoReport.com. “I’ve been holding the Lottery Commission accountable for three decades. My criticisms have been confirmed and now, I’ve got a new target.”
