Ryan Mindell, the executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, resigned April 21, according to an announcement from the agency.
The agency did not give a reason for Mindell’s resignation.
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.
Former commissioner Clark Smith previously resigned from the agency in February.
The House budget recently passed with no funding for the lottery commission—a decision representatives doubled down on with a second nonbinding motion.
In recent years, the Texas Lottery has become embroiled in a number of scandals and is currently under investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Rangers.
A $95 million jackpot was won in 2023 by a consortium led by London-based trader Bernard Marantelli after it bought nearly all of the 25.8 million possible number combinations at $1 per ticket.
According to reports, Marantelli and his associates obtained official ticket-printing terminals that they used to produce the requisite tickets.
Marantelli has maintained his innocence.
Mindell served as executive director for one year following the resignation of longstanding director Gary Grief. He previously worked as deputy executive director, operations director and assistant general counsel for the lottery commission.
Image by Alejandro Garay from Pixabay
