This article has been updated since publication.
A state agency is set to continue contracting lottery operations to the same company that was linked to the rigging of Texas’ $95 million lottery jackpot, resulting in lawmakers shuttering the Texas Lottery Commission.
In a November 4 letter from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) obtained by Texas Scorecard, Contract Specialist Dorene Corsentino wrote that Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation is the “Apparent Successful Proposer (ASP) for Lottery Operations and Services.”
Corsentino wrote that “TDLR emphasizes the procurement still remains active until the contract is fully executed.”
Brightstar is the rebranded name for IGT, the lottery vendor for the now-closed Texas Lottery Commission (TLC).
Former TLC Executive Director Gary Grief is accused of colluding with TLC vendors to rig a $95 million jackpot in 2023. Grief was indicted this year in Travis County on a felony charge tied to the scheme.
IGT, which supplied printing machines, allowed lottery tickets to be printed at scale to make the scheme workable. The company confirmed to state senators last year that it had delivered many machines to what has been identified as illicit printing operations set up in contravention of state law and, in at least one case, for a bulk printing operation.
Following the fallout from the revelations of the lottery rigging, state lawmakers abolished the TLC in 2025, but did not end the lottery itself. Instead, it transferred oversight to TDLR.
When initially asked about awarding Brightstar the contract, TDLR spokesperson Caroline Espinosa wrote, “The procurement remains open and active. As such, TDLR cannot comment on the active procurement, individual proposals, or other procurement sensitive details while the process is ongoing. TDLR is following the RFP and procurement requirements.”
After Texas Scorecard approached TDLR about the November 4 letter, Espinosa wrote that the original comment remains unchanged.
Notably, the letter is dated the day after all statewide Republicans were swept from office, including Gov. Greg Abbott. As Texas Scorecard has previously reported, Abbott’s former chief of staff, Luis Saenz, has been lobbying for IGT, according to Texas Ethics Commission reports.
A House amendment to the legislation abolishing the lottery commission allowed IGT to maintain its contract with the state lottery administrator before the current application process could play out. State Rep. Charlie Geren (R–Fort Worth) said his amendment was drafted with input from “stakeholders” and was voted off the House floor under the watchful eye of Saenz.
Saenz isn’t the only Abbott connection to IGT. John B. Scott, another member of IGT’s lobbying team, was Abbott’s deputy attorney general for civil litigation when Abbott was attorney general. Abbott later appointed Scott to secretary of state and, briefly, attorney general.
Ahead of the 2025 legislative session, Abbott hired Robert S. Howden as an advisor. Before joining Abbott’s office, Howden ran a nonprofit that exclusively advocated for the lottery’s economic benefits. During the session, the same nonprofit ran ads advocating for the embattled state lottery.
In addition to drawing ire for supplying machines and pallets of tickets for the rigged 2023 jackpot, in contravention of its contract with the state, IGT made direct political contributions. In 2025, IGT was a title sponsor of Abbott’s State of the State address.
Texas was one of IGT’s largest contract markets in 2024, ranking behind Italy but larger than Canada.
