Texas Lottery Director Calls It Quits as Investigations Heat Up

The executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, Ryan Mindell, has stepped down, according to an official statement released Monday. The timing isn't exactly subtle—his resignation lands right in the middle of a storm of investigations into the state lottery's practices and its cozy relationship with ticket courier companies.

Both Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have ordered probes into the integrity of lottery prizes, as well as how the agency handled those online courier services that let customers buy tickets from their couches. For anyone who hasn't met these couriers, they operate by taking online orders, sending a real person to snag the tickets at a licensed retailer, and then they scan the tickets and hold onto them until the results are in. Naturally, there's a nice little service fee added for this digital convenience.

The hot seat Mindell left behind is thanks in part to questions about some eyebrow-raising wins: an $83 million jackpot in Austin back in February and a $95 million ticket sold in Colleyville last April. The Texas Rangers have been called in to dig deeper, because nothing screams "good ol' Texas drama" like Rangers chasing down lottery leads.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are tossing around ideas ranging from banning these courier companies outright to pulling the plug on the entire Texas Lottery Commission. Talk about going all-in.

Governor Abbott, through his spokesperson, made it clear that the expectation is for the Lottery Commission to play by the rules and keep the public’s trust—regardless of who's steering the ship.

But it’s not just state officials making noise. The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers is pointing fingers back at Mindell, accusing him of letting the agency paint their companies as the fall guys for "questionable activities" within the Commission itself. According to them, Mindell’s exit might just be the fresh start needed to get some good faith back on the table.

In terms of next steps, the Commission has named Sergio Rey, their former chief financial officer, as acting deputy executive director. The actual hunt for a permanent boss will kick off at an open meeting on April 29.