A scandal in Texas could cause some states to reconsider holding a state lottery.
The executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission has resigned after several investigations were initiated into the awarding of lottery jackpots totaling more than $200 million.
Ryan Mindell served as executive director for less than a year before a terse announcement from the lottery offices confirmed his resignation. No reason was given, but the agency faces at least two investigations ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton into the integrity of the game.
The investigations have led to the Texas House refusing to appropriate any money for the lottery in the state's budget. Negotiations between the House and Senate could lead to restoring the money, but much will depend on what the investigations uncover.
One of the major issues is the use of couriers who buy and sell lottery tickets for customers online. Specifically, a $95 million jackpot in 2023 is under scrutiny when the winners bought nearly every possible number combination — more than 25 million of them.
The winning $95 million ticket was "collected two months later in the form of a one-time payment of $57.8 million to a company called Rook TX," reports the Texas Tribune.
A Houston Chronicle investigation initially detailed the buying efforts behind the 2023 jackpot, but it was the second one that finally grabbed the attention of prominent state lawmakers, as well as the governor and the state attorney general. An agency that typically garners little attention beyond the millions it awards in jackpots and scratch-off ticket games was suddenly under fire.
Abbott ordered the state’s elite Texas Rangers law enforcement agency to open an investigation, and Paxton announced a probe by the state attorney general’s office. Those remain ongoing.
“The governor expects the Texas Lottery Commission to work within the bounds of the law and to ensure the trust and integrity of the lottery regardless of who leads the agency,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Tuesday.
Another ticket sold in February 2025 was worth $83 million and purchased at a courier store. The company operates retail stores in six states. Most states forbid out-of-state residents from buying their lottery tickets.
The ticket couriers believe that Mindell was setting them up to take the fall.
The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers accused Mindell of pushing the agency to “inaccurately and unfairly” allow the courier companies to “become the scapegoat for its own questionable activities.” The group insisted its members played no role in the 2023 jackpot scheme.
“Mindell’s departure provides an opportunity to reconsider the agency’s politically motivated decisions regarding lottery couriers and restart good faith collaboration between our companies and the TLC,” the coalition said in a statement.
"Lottery couriers are unregulated service providers that take lottery ticket orders from customers online, either through an Internet website on a computer, or by using an application on a mobile device," the Texas Lottery Commission told Fox News Digital.
Lottery couriers are operating but unregulated in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Perhaps it's time for other states who allow couriers to take a closer look at how they're run.
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