The lottery is causing uproar as it faces intense legal and public scrutiny for allegedly assisting foreign bettors in rigging the jackpot.
Ryan Mindell, one of the lottery’s top executives, resigned on Monday as its deputy director and operations director.
Mindell only held the position for a year and made no formal statement explaining why he was leaving.
“Ryan Mindell notified the Texas Lottery Commission board of his resignation, effective today, April 21,” a Texas Lottery Commission statement read.
Sergio Rey, the agency’s Chief Financial Officer, has been named Acting Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Lottery. The Commission board will discuss the selection process for a new executive director at its next open meeting on April 29.”
The resignation comes after a massive scandal involving the Texas lottery and European bettors, which some say the state may never recover from.
The Texas lottery is accused in the scandal of allowing European gamblers to rig the state lottery in order to win a $95 million jackpot in 2023, according to the New York Times.
The lottery winners purchased nearly every possible combination.
To do so, the founders of British bookmaker Colossal Bets allegedly collaborated with Lottery.com and two other companies to purchase nearly 26 million number combinations for $1 per ticket.
To make their plan work, lottery officials had to turn a blind eye to the operation and allow potential violations of numerous lottery rules.
The officials presented the deal as a win-win: bettors purchased nearly every ticket, giving the lottery a significant boost, with all proceeds going back to the Texas public school system.
The officials presented the deal as a win-win: bettors purchased nearly every ticket, giving the lottery a significant boost, with all proceeds going back to the Texas public school system.
The Houston Chronicle reported the first jackpot, but it was the second that piqued investigators’ interest.
A lottery ticket worth $83 million was purchased from a courier chain store with locations in six states.
The money from the 2023 win has been withheld pending the investigation.
The Texas Lottery previously stated that it was not responsible for any wrongdoing.
Lottery.com, the courier, allowed remote players to purchase lottery tickets, allowing gamblers to avoid state laws requiring in-person purchases.
Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the state lottery.
Texas Lottery’s statement on Mindell
Ryan Mindell notified the Texas Lottery Commission board of his resignation, effective today, April 21. Sergio Rey, the agency’s Chief Financial Officer, 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 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’s spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, said.
The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers accused Mindell of allowing the lottery 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 group said in a press release.
The executive’s departure comes after Clark Smith, the agency’s former commissioner, resigned in late February.
The Texas Lottery did not immediately respond to The United States Sun’s request for additional information.
