The executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission abruptly resigned Monday amid doubts that the state-funded body can survive a scandal around two controversial lottery jackpots. In the first case, professional bettors were allowed to essentially rig the lottery in April 2023. A London-based trader representing professional bettors in Europe purchased 25.8 million $1 tickets, nearly all of those available, via a lottery ticket courier, essentially guaranteeing a $95 million jackpot win, per Newsweek. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called it "the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas."
The lottery is now under investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office and the Texas Rangers from the Department of Public Safety. Lawmakers determined the commission had expedited delivery of dozens of extra lottery terminals to three US companies—Lottery.com, Luck Zone, and Lottery Now—to enable them to print the millions of tickets during a 72-hour window between lottery draws, per the New York Times. TLC Executive Director Ryan Mindell announced his resignation, effective immediately, without giving a reason, one day after the Times published video of the ticket printing operation.
TLC's former deputy executive director had served as executive director for exactly one year, replacing Gary Grief, who was in charge during the 2023 draw. Another controversial jackpot win came this year, under Mindell's tenure, when a woman claiming a $83.5 million jackpot was found to have also purchased her ticket through an online courier, a third-party vendor that purchases lottery tickets on a customer's behalf, per CNN. The TLC later said it would move to ban ticket courier services after concluding they are "not allowed under Texas law," per Newsweek. Some lawmakers have suggested the lottery, which raises money for Texas schools, should be eliminated altogether. (More Texas lottery stories.)
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