Texas Lottery executive director resigns amid multiple investigations
The Texas Lottery Commission's executive director, Ryan Mindell, resigned Monday, according to a media release.
Mindell's exit comes as the agency faces at least two investigations ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton into the integrity of the lottery prizes, and how the state handled the introduction of courier companies that buy and send tickets on behalf of customers online.
"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.
"Upon receipt of funds from a customer, the courier sends a representative to purchase lottery tickets in person from a licensed brick-and-mortar lottery retailer with whom the courier has a private business arrangement. The courier transmits a scanned image of the ticket to the customer and retains the ticket until it is determined to be a winning or non-winning ticket. Couriers charge a fee for their service to purchase and manage their customers' tickets."
The companies and lottery officials have denied wrongdoing. But Texas state lawmakers are considering forcing several changes, ranging from a legal ban on sales through courier companies to shutting down the agency by taking away all of its funding.
Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate an $83 million winning lottery ticket sold in Austin in February, and a $95 million winning lottery ticket sold in Colleyville in April 2023, FOX 7 Austin reported.
"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 told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
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."
"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 to the AP.
Sergio Rey, the former chief financial officer at the Texas Lottery Commission, "has been appointed acting deputy executive director of the Texas Lottery. The Commission board will consider its selection process for a new executive director at its next open meeting, scheduled for April 29," the agency said in a statement.
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