AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The Texas Lottery Commission on Monday announced that it will block third-party courier services, as a legislative controversy surrounding the practice continues to swirl at the state capitol.
Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell issued a policy statement Monday morning making the change, effective immediately, with proposed rule amendments to come at Commission meetings in March and April.
"The Texas Lottery was established to provide a secure and transparent system for players to purchase tickets in person from licensed brick-and-mortar retailers for the purpose of generating revenue for public education and veterans’ services in a responsible manner,” said Mindell in a statement. “Lottery courier services operating in Texas have been a significant concern for many of our stakeholders."
The lottery has been under fire from state lawmakers, particularly Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has questioned the decision making from the commission. Lawmakers have said the process could enable money laundering, as well as allowing other violations of the lottery's rules.
"I've never read so much garbage from a state agency press release in my 18 years in office," said Patrick in a Facebook post. "After years of claiming they had no authority to regulate lottery couriers, today the Texas Lottery Commission suddenly exercised the ultimate regulatory authority by banning all lottery couriers in Texas. It was just two weeks ago in Senate Finance that they hesitated to answer direct questions from members about their concerns about the Texas Lottery. Only when pressed did they acknowledge there may have been money laundering through the Texas Lottery."
"Today's action is an obvious admission that the Texas Lottery Commission had the oversight authority all along and allowed these businesses to creep into Texas and undermine the integrity of the Texas Lottery,” said Patrick.
Despite Mindell's effort to reign in couriers, the legislative scrutiny on the Lottery is expected to continue. "If the Lottery Commission thinks this ends our investigation, they are wrong," said Patrick. "I promise the people of Texas that we will restore the integrity of the Texas lottery so people can trust its fairness. Otherwise, the Senate will end the Lottery this session."
The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers issued a statement following the Lottery's action Monday, calling the action "abrupt, disappointing, and unnecessary" and calling for a regulatory solution. "Lottery couriers have been legally and responsibly operating in Texas since 2019, while always maintaining a transparent and professional relationship with the Texas Lottery Commission. Throughout this process, the TLC has claimed to have no regulatory authority over courier activities, despite couriers’ persistent requests to be regulated, just as we are in other states."