The Texas lawmaker who authored a bill to abolish the Texas Lottery filed alternative legislation May 13 that would dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission and move regulation of the lottery to another state agency.
“If there isn’t enough of an appetite to get rid of the lottery outright, then this bill represents the next best thing,” Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, said as he presented SB 3070 in a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing, where the bill was left pending.
Hall briefly reiterated ways key leaders of the Texas Lottery Commission failed to abide by state laws.
“You already understand the Lottery Commission’s long list of wrongful and illegal acts,” Hall told members of Senate Committee on State Affairs.
“The Lottery Commission changed its administrative rules to help criminals rig the lottery. Most of these changes were made in direct contradiction to existing law.”
Give TDLR authority to oversee the lottery
The Texas Lottery Commission needs to be abolished, Hall insisted.
His new bill, SB 3070, would dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission and transfer the administration of the lottery—as well as licensing and regulation of charitable bingo—to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The bill mandates a limited-scope Sunset Advisory Commission review of the state lottery during the next fiscal biennium, ending Aug. 21, 2027. Unless the lottery is continued at that time, it will be abolished Sept. 1, 2027.
SB 3070 places limits on the number of lottery tickets a retailer may sell to one individual in a single transaction and prohibits the purchase of lottery tickets by phone or through the internet. It also establishes a lottery advisory committee and limits the number of ticket-printing lottery terminals any given licensed retailer can have.
The bill also encompasses provisions in SB 28, a bill Hall introduced early in the legislative session, which bans lottery couriers—third-party vendors who enable buyers to purchase lottery tickets through their websites or mobile apps. The Senate unanimously passed SB 28—a priority bill of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick—in February.
SB 3070 also establishes a department of security within Texas’ Financial Crimes and Intelligence Center to identify and respond to criminal activities associated with the lottery and charitable bingo.
Further reforms to be introduced
As he laid out SB 3070, Hall mentioned several amendments that will be introduced once the bill reaches the Senate floor.
They would increase criminal penalties for illegal ticket sales; restrict where tickets can be purchased; require individuals—not businesses or limited liability corporations—to cash in winning tickets; and deputize the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and speaker of the House of Representatives as authorized inspectors for the lottery.
Rob Kohler, consultant with Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission, testified in support of SB 3070.
In a phone interview, Kohler identified SB 3070 as “another option” lawmakers have in this session to prevent the kind of abuses that have occurred under the Texas Lottery Commission in recent years.
“The fact that SB 3070 was introduced and scheduled for hearing the same day indicates there is momentum behind it,” he observed.
If the lottery does continue to operate under the administration of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, it will “be under a bright light for the next two years,” Kohler said.
“Legislators are taking seriously a lot of the concerns that have been raised by the CLC for years,” he said.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.