Texas Lottery’s top executive Ryan Mindell resigns as scrutiny over big jackpot winners intensifies

AUSTIN, Texas — The executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission has resigned, the latest shake-up at the state’s retail gambling enterprise amid multiple investigations into jackpots in 2023 and earlier this year totaling nearly $200 million, and calls from some lawmakers to shut it down.

The lottery announced Ryan Mindell’s resignation on Monday without comment.

A former deputy director and operations director at the lottery, Mindell had held the top job for only about a year following the abrupt resignation of his predecessor.

3

He leaves 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.

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.

The jackpots

The Texas lottery was established in 1991 and sends a portion of its annual revenue to public education. In 2024, that meant about $2 billion sent to the state’s public school fund.

But two of the biggest jackpots in agency history prompted flares of scrutiny and criticism from media, lawmakers and state officials who question whether they were fairly won and if courier companies should be allowed.

3

First, a $95 million jackpot in 2023 was awarded when the winners bought nearly every possible number combination — more than 25 million of them.

In February, an $83 million ticket was won with a ticket purchased at a courier store. The chain that operates the store has locations in six states.

The reaction

A Houston Chronicle investigation initially detailed the buying efforts behind the 2023 jackpot, but it was the second one that finally grabbed the attention of prominent state lawmakers, as well as the governor and the state attorney general.

An agency that typically garners little attention beyond the millions it awards in jackpots and scratch-off ticket games was suddenly under fire.

Abbott ordered the state’s elite Texas Rangers law enforcement agency to open an investigation, and Paxton announced a probe by the state attorney general’s office. Those remain ongoing.

“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 said Tuesday.

A Texas lottery spokesman declined further comment on Mindell’s resignation.

The Legislature, meanwhile, has held public hearings to scold lottery officials for allowing the use of courier companies to bypass state law that requires tickets to be purchased in person.

3

Mindell had told state lawmakers in February that the agency had previously determined it did not have the authority to regulate courier companies, but said the agency would move to ban them.

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.” The group insisted its members played no role in the 2023 jackpot scheme.

“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.

What comes next

State lawmakers are approaching the final month of their biennial session and have threatened action ranging from writing a courier ban into state law, or even more drastic measures such as shutting down the lottery altogether.

The state Senate has already passed a ban on courier sales, but the measure has yet to get a vote in the House.

The House and Senate will soon negotiate a final version of the two-year state budget. The House version currently includes no money for the agency, which would effectively close it down.

But that effort is likely more of a message that lawmakers are serious about making changes than seriously thinking of closing down an agency that generates billions in sales and for public schools annually.

Texas hold ’em

State law allows Texas jackpots to be claimed anonymously, and the April 2023 jackpot was collected two months later in the form of a one-time payment of $57.8 million to a company called Rook TX.

The payment for the February jackpot, however, is on hold pending the state investigations. An attorney for a woman who claims to hold the winning ticket has said it was legally purchased among a group of 10 she bought through the courier Jacketpocket.