Embattled Texas Lottery Facing Yet Another Challenge

The Texas Lottery has been under fire recently for numerous different of money laundering as well as the use and legality of lottery couriers here in the state. Many have started to shy away a bit from it in light of everything.

So just when you thought things couldn't get worse, they have. I guess, depending on how you look at it, maybe this isn't getting worse, but it's definitely fallout from everything that has happened over the last couple of months.

Resignation Handed In

Ryan Mindell, the Texas Lottery Commission's executive director, tendered his resignation effectively immediately on Monday, April 21. The resignation comes just days after Mindell celebrated his one year anniversary on the job.

In light of the scrutiny the Texas Lottery has faced recently, maybe this is a good thing. It's not fair to put it all on Mindell, as some of the events happened prior to him taking the post, however, he's been the one under fire.

Money Laundering Claims

Let's look back at what has happened over the last few months with the Texas Lottery. It all started back in February with claims that the Texas Lottery was allowing money laundering to happen by allowing customers to purchase thousands of tickets at one time.

Two months later, a jackpot winner filed a suit against the Texas Lottery claiming that money laundering cost him millions when he won his jackpot. He claimed that if the lottery hadn't allowed someone to circumvent the system, his jackpot would've been roughly $100 million higher than it was.

Lottery Couriers, Legal Or Not?

On top of all the money laundering claims, many cried foul about the different ways to purchase lottery tickets. Online being one of them, the other being lottery couriers. These lottery couriers have multiple machines setup and are capable to spitting out tickets at rapid rates.

Many said this was making it easier for money laundering to happen, as well as giving an unfair advantage when it came to winning jackpots. Initially, the Texas Lottery said they didn't see a problem with it, then they had an about-face and moved to ban all lottery couriers. Too little, too late?

What Happens Now

While they search for the next executive director, Sergio Rey, the current Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed the Acting Deputy Executive Director according to their press release. He could ultimately be a candidate to hold the position permanently.

At their next open meeting scheduled to take place on April 29, they will begin considering the selection process to find the next executive director for the embattled entity.