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Ryan Mindell, the executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, has resigned effective immediately, according to a news release from the agency on Monday.
Mindell took over as executive director of the commission after his predecessor, Gary Grief, resigned in 2024. Both former directors and the lottery itself have received a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers amid scrutiny over two central issues: the proliferation of third-party lottery ticket couriers and a $95 million jackpot in 2023 won by a single group buying out every possible ticket combination.
Robert Rivera, the lottery commission’s chair, said in a statement that Mindell submitted his resignation Monday. Rivera did not immediately make clear why Mindell resigned. The commission will start the process of finding a new executive director at its next meeting on April 29, the same day the agency is set to ban couriers from operating in the state. Clark Smith, a former commissioner with the agency, also resigned in late February.
Scrutiny of the agency from lawmakers recently reached a head after the House’s budget passed the chamber with zero funding for the lottery commission, a decision representatives doubled down on with a second nonbinding motion. Several bills in both legislative chambers also seek to whittle down or eliminate the agency, however none have received hearings since mid-March.
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