AUSTIN — A bill that would preserve the Texas Lottery but abolish the commission that oversees it is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Senate Friday night agreed with changes to the compromise plan, paving the way for the beleaguered state lottery to be managed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Charitable Bingo, which is currently under the embattled Texas Lottery Commission, would also be overseen by TDLR.
Lawmakers expect Abbott to sign the bill. In February he ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate two multi-million jackpots that have stirred controversy. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have also announced investigations of the lottery.
“I’m satisfied with where we are,” said state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, a day before the Senate concurred with House amendments to the bill he authored.
Hall added that TDLR would be able to absorb the lottery and provide the necessary oversight.
Under the bill passed Sunday, the revamped lottery would be subjected to a series of reforms, including the banning of third-party couriers to assist customers in ticket purchases, mandating retailers develop age-verification tools to prevent the sale of tickets to minors and a comprehensive review by state regulators to develop additional recommendations.
The House amendment, developed by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, would extend the contract of International Game Technology, the company that operates the lottery, for two years. State officials are currently in the process of procuring another lottery operations contract after the current one expires in 2026.
The potentially soon-to-be abolished Lottery Commission is under its 12-year systematic evaluation and will expire Aug. 31 without reauthorization from the Legislature. The evaluation started last year with the Sunset Advisory Commission, which made recommendations on how lottery oversight could be improved.
Under the terms of the bill that passed the House Sunday, the Legislature now has to review and approve the continuation of the lottery by Sept. 1, 2029. The original Senate version called for a review and extension by Sept. 1, 2027.
Some lawmakers, while disturbed by recent headlines about lottery scandals, didn’t want to look elsewhere in the budget to replace the revenue it provides.
Since 1997 the lottery has provided $34 billion to public schools, including $2 billion in 2024. It has generated $267 million for veterans since 2010. Opponents of the lottery contend lottery revenue is a small fraction of the total state budget and could easily be made up elsewhere.
Recently the lottery has been beset by controversies.
Lawmakers were concerned over whether lottery officials violated Texas law by allowing couriers to take online ticket orders to make the system more convenient for customers. Legislators said the system violated the prohibition against telephone and online sales of tickets and made it possible for minors to play the lottery.
In February, the Senate voted 31-0 to ban the use of couriers to facilitate the purchase of lottery tickets. The Senate vote came after former Lottery Commission executive director Ryan Mindell banned couriers, which he had consistently told lawmakers he lacked the authority to do.
The new bill would continue the prohibition against lottery couriers.
Keeping tickets from being sold online and over the telephone is just part of the frustration legislators have with the lottery.
The Lottery Commission is embroiled in an April 2023 jackpot scandal, where an overseas entity bought over 25 million $1 tickets, giving it access to almost every possible number combination, to win $95 million.
A February $83.5 million jackpot is also under scrutiny. The sole winning ticket was purchased from an Austin lottery store connected to a courier. The woman who bought the ticket is suing the Lottery Commission, which has refused to pay her as the investigations into the jackpots continue.
Investigations into both jackpots and the Lottery Commission are ongoing.