It is a real possibility that the Texas lottery can go away in the wake of two major payout scandals. The Texas Lottery Commission is up for its every-12-year review known as the Sunset Commission.
Last week, Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell was the latest to resign. This came after a public grilling earlier this Spring in a Texas Senate committee hearing.
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WATCH HEREThe Texas Rangers, the Texas Attorney General, and select lawmakers continue to investigate whether large electronic lottery courier companies improperly had their thumb on the scale for two huge payouts: one for $95 million and another for $83 million. They're also investigating whether state regulators looked the other way.
Courier services are companies like Lotto.com and Jackpocket, which sell lottery tickets online or through mobile apps.
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SIGN UP In April, the Texas House zeroed out the budget for the Lottery Commission, killing the program if they don't make a different decision while negotiating with the Texas Senate. The legislative session ends in early June.
“It’s a hard thing even for someone like me to comprehend," said Rob Kohler, a longtime anti-gambling lobbyist for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
According to state data, lottery sales have plummeted since the legislature began to scrutinize the industry. Earlier this Spring, the commission abruptly reversed its years-long course and decided that it could ban third-party lottery courier services. Sales in both scratch-offs and draw games have decreased.
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Lotto.com filed a lawsuit against the state for its quick backpedal to ban the courier services.
Kohler told NBC 5 on Monday that it may be because people heard of the scandal and lost faith that it was fair.
“They’ve lost players. There’s no doubt. You can look on social media. There’s folks they care enough that they bother to write down several sentences, you know I used to do this and I’m not going to do it anymore because it’s fixed," said Kohler.
The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers wants to reset relations with the state and called the abrupt changes "political." Their answer to the scandal is closer regulation, not abolishing the lottery.
“It is time to reconsider the agency’s politically motivated decisions regarding lottery couriers and restart good faith collaboration between our companies and fresh leadership," wrote a spokesperson for the coalition.
Roughly $2-3 billion comes into the state budget from the lottery every two years.
A public meeting of the Texas Lottery Commission on Tuesday, April 29th, may possibly yield more information. An update on the legislative session is also on the schedule.
