House abolishes Lottery Commission, moves game
The Texas House of Representatives voted to dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission and move the operation and administration of the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, presented the House substitute to SB 3070, the bill approved unanimously by the Texas Senate. Geren said he wanted to put “guardrails around the operation of the lottery,” while ensuring its continued operation.
Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, author of SB 3070, previously had introduced legislation to do away with the state lottery altogether. In presenting SB 3070 in a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing, Hall called the compromise bill “the next best thing.”
Put the lottery ‘under a bright light’
Among other reforms, the bill in both its House and Senate versions bans lottery couriers—third-party companies that enable customers to purchase lottery tickets through their websites or mobile phone apps.
The bill requires retailers to develop age verification tools to prevent the sale of lottery tickets to minors.
It also makes the lottery subject to regulatory review, although the House and Senate versions of the bill set different dates by which the review must be completed.
Rob Kohler, consultant with Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission, said the lottery will be operating “under a bright light” under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will need to be reconciled before it goes to Gov. Greg Abbott to sign into law.
Before voting to approve the bill moving lottery operations and oversight to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the House rejected an amendment by Brent Money, R-Greenville, to abolish the lottery altogether.
Even when state lotteries operate as they are intended, they still are “shameful,” Money said, because they “disproportionately burden low-income Texans who spend a higher share of their income chasing false hopes.” The House defeated Money’s amendment 71-58.
Mired in investigations and lawsuits
The Texas Lottery Commission is the subject of several investigations and lawsuits.
In February, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate both an April 2023 bulk purchase of lottery tickets that enabled a group to claim a $95 million jackpot and a more-recent $83.5 million win involving lottery couriers.
Attorney General Ken Paxton also announced his office was launching its own investigation into the Texas Lottery to determine whether any state or federal laws were broken.
Ryan Mindell resigned on April 21 after one year as executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission. About that same time, several news outlets reported Gary Grief—who served more than 30 years as executive director of the commission—went missing, and some authorities feared he fled the United States.
Two former executives with Lottery.com who have been linked directly to Grief and other former high-ranking Texas Lottery Commission officials recently pleaded guilty to participating in a complicated securities fraud scheme.